Anti-pylon protest draws more than 1,500

More than 1,500 people walked through the cold and rain at the weekend to protest against a proposed Eirgrid network of pylons designated for the area around the Comeragh Mountains.

One of the possible lines of pylons suggested by Eirgrid — as part of its Grid25 project to upgrade the country’s electricity grid by 2025 — runs through Co Waterford and has drawn major opposition because of local fears about the effect of pylons on the countryside and on health and safety.

Saturday’s walk was jointly organised by the Comeraghs Against Pylons and Comeragh Rathgormack K9 Pylon Prevention groups and took protesters from Crough Wood on the edge of the Comeraghs to the picturesque Mahon Falls.