United in opposition to pylon plan

THE villages and townlands of Dungourney, Clonmult, Lisgoold and Leamlara lie about 13km north of Midleton in East Cork.

It’s a steady climb upwards as you drive towards Clonmult, a sleepy village most famous for a bloody War of Independence battle in 1921 where 12 men from the East Cork flying column were shot dead and two more sent for execution.

For nearly two months, the village community centre has been holding biweekly meetings attended by over a dozen farmers and householders who had never gathered together in a room before. Many of the farming families have tended this land for generations, while some of the homeowners are living in one-off houses here for as little as a year.