Councillor kicks off turf war after O’Keeffe turns sod

A TURF war has broken out between Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe and a Labour councillor over the funding for a school.

Last month, Mr O’Keeffe turned the sod on the site of the proposed building for Gaelscoil na Cruaiche in Westport, Co Mayo, only for local town councillor Keith Martin to return the sod to the minister’s offices.

In an accompanying letter, Mr Martin told the minister: “Please keep this sod until you have secured a contract for the building and appointed a contractor for the work. Until such time, your sod-turning ceremony can only be considered an empty gesture.”