Motorway to run through famous battlefield site
An Bord Pleanála yesterday gave Galway County Council permission to build the road to replace the existing N6 route between Galway city and Ballinasloe, passing through the site of the Battle of Aughrim.
Just one extra condition was laid down: a four-kilometre stretch of the road is to be designed to be at or below existing ground level and overbridges are to be lowered to minimise the visual impact at the edge of the battlefield.
The roadway, part of the overall Galway-Dublin N6/M6 upgrade, was the subject of a lengthy oral planning hearing which ran from November last year to January this year.
The hearing considered a letter by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to then Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble assuring him that the historical importance of the site would not be overlooked when the road was being designed. An estimated 9,000 people died when the forces of William of Orange defeated the Irish army loyal to Catholic King James at Aughrim in 1691, making it the biggest recorded battle in Irish history.
It was the last major flashpoint in the Williamite wars and precipitated the Siege of Limerick; the Treaty of Limerick and the flight of the Wild Geese. Military historians have mapped the position points of the various regiments involved and An Taisce claimed that several would be destroyed by the new road.
The National Roads Authority argued that there would be minimal impact on important sites. An Bord Pleanála inspectors backed that view yesterday when they ruled the development “would not significantly interfere” with sites of historical or cultural significance in the area, including the site of the Battle of Aughrim.
In a separate decision announced yesterday, An Bord Pleanála gave permission for a major shopping, business and residential development in the centre of Athlone town.
Two new covered streets are to built as part of the project which also includes more than 50 shops, 160 apartments and townhouses, a 160-bed hotel, cafes, restaurants, a crèche and public open space.
It was the second time Westmeath County Council had granted permission for the site. An Bord Pleanála overturned the first permission in 2003 because of the scale of the development.
The new design is bigger than the first one but An Bord Pleanála said it now fitted into the overall plans for the expansion of Athlone as part of the Government’s National Spatial Strategy. Objections by An Taisce and a local couple were rejected.
Construction is expected to begin before the end of the summer and negotiations are underway with Marks & Spencer about the becoming anchor tenants.
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