On Wednesday evening last, May 22, local and European election candidates gathered, on the invitation of the Kellystown/ Monasterboice Wind Action Group (KMWAG) at the site in the Kellystown, Monasterboice area on which it is proposed to build five 180 M high turbines.
The five candidates attended the gathering were – Paula Butterly FG, John Sheridan FF, Thomas Cunningham SF, Ann Marie Ford FG and Anthony Murphy of the Green Party.
Telling the candidates of the residents’ concerns, KMWAG Chairperson, Ray Donagh, spoke of the environmental impact including disruption to local wildlife and ecosystems and he painted a pretty grim picture.
“They can impact bird and bat populations through collisions with turbine blades” he said. “There are concerns about the potential health effects of living close to wind turbines, such as shadow flicker and noise pollution. Wind turbines generate noise, both from the blades cutting through the air and from the mechanical components inside the turbine.
“Infrasound is a particularly sinister noise generated by Turbines. This noise has a frequency of 20 Hz and is associated with the following reported effects which include those on the inner ear, vertigo, imbalance, etc.; intolerable sensations, incapacitation, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, and bowel spasm; and resonances in inner organs, such as the heart.
“Infrasound has been observed to affect the sleep patterns. Some individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) may react negatively to noise including low-frequency noise, infrasound, vibration and other environmental emissions.
Ray spoke also of the lack of possibility of houses being built in the area.
“Many generations of families have been born and reared in this area and the possibility of that continuing for future generations is gone with the wind turbines” he said. “Those families who have land to give to their children to build homes will no doubt find objections to their planning by the wind developers as has been the case in many other counties.
“Wind factory developers are happy to impose their industrial scale wind factories on communities. And in the process create sterile areas around their developments where potential sites for family members to build new homes are stopped. Who’d want to build beside these industrial scale monstrosities?
“It is proposed to build wind factories all over the country in the misguided belief that they will solve the energy crisis” Mr Donagh continued.
“Ireland’s alternative wind energy programme is being driven by developers whose primary aim and reason for existing is to make profit for their shareholders not to save the planet.”
The Communities and Environmental Protection Alliance (CEPA), of which KMWAG is a member, held a protest outside the Daíl on May 21, 2024 to demand stricter regulations and compliance with the many pieces of legislation already in place and which wind factory developers must comply with.
Paula Butterly Ann Marie Ford, John Sheridan and Thomas Cunningham all spoke in support of the group while Anthony Murphy said he wanted to hear more details and would be issuing a statement when he is more informed.
