Mass rally to push for powerline rethink

A WEST Cork farmer has invited landowners and farmers from across the country to a mass rally at his property next Friday aimed at stopping the ESB running unwelcome overhead pylons through people’s lands.

Describing the situation as worse than the case of the Rossport Five, Joe Burke of the Bantry Concerned Action Group (BCAG) said he is hoping the weight of public opinion expressed by the large numbers expected to attend the rally, will force the ESB to accept that it must look at burying the cables underground.

Today, five farmers who have been protesting against a 14km overhead powerline are to appear in the High Court where the ESB is seeking injunctions to prevent them from blocking access to their lands.