A CO CLARE man dead for 10 years is one of a number of people to lodge letters of support for contentious plans for a quarry near the village of Ruan.
Ruan woman Louise Kirwan has raised the matter with Clare County Council that her late grand-father Patrick O’Donoghue’s name appears on a letter in favour of a plan to develop a 46-acre quarry at Ardcarney, Ruan. In his submission dated March 5th last, Mr O’Donoghue of Ardcarney told the council he fully supports the application by Lagan Bitumen Ltd as it “represents the continuation of a local product produced from the site and required in local infrastructure and building projects. It will also create much-needed jobs in the area.”
In her objection against the proposal, Ms Kirwan said that “my grandfather, who passed away 10 years ago, I see his name in as a non-objecting resident. Is this acceptable?”
Ms Kirwan declined to comment any further when contacted.
Trevor White, another local resident opposed to the quarry, described the move to include Mr O’Donoghue’s letter as “underhand tactics of the highest degree”.
A local campaign has been mounted to advance the quarry application through the planning process, with 27 submissions lodged in favour of the proposal. There have been 10 objections lodged against it.
A breakdown of the 27 letters of support include letters from various parts of Ennis eight miles away. All of the objections are from people living near the proposed quarry site.
There is nothing to suggest the applicants, Lagan Bitumen Ltd, are aware of the campaign supporting the planning application.
In her objection, local resident Pamela O’Malley says on inspection of the letters of support it is obvious that a number of them have been signed by almost identical handwriting.
“We, the residents of Ardcarney, have never heard of these so-called neighbours of ours.”
A decision is due on the application this month.
