Commonage farmers may target adventure race, Greenway

Commonage farmers consider targeting adventure race and Greenway in protest


Protest may move to Croagh Patrick
Áine Ryan

COMMONAGE farmers are considering attempting to block up to 1200 adventure racers from climbing holy mountain, Croagh Patrick (a commonage area), at the upcoming Sea2Summit race, due to be held on Saturday, November 8.  
That is according to a Mayo News source who confirmed that, in a separate protest, they are also considering blocking parts of the Great Western Greenway in a bid to have their concerns about key aspects of the proposed new Rural Development Programme (RDP) addressed.
The Mayo News understands that the race organisers are not aware of any such planned protest along the route, which starts in Westport and includes a climb of Croagh Patrick. Indeed, Mr Brendan Joyce, the Regional Connemara Chairman of the IFA, told The Mayo News last week that he was not aware of such specific plans and that such an action had not been formally decided upon.
However, he added: “I am sure farmers are contemplating further protests as their ‘good faith’ in the Government has been severely tested.”
Moreover, Mr Joyce did emphasise that ‘there was a short window’ to resolve outstanding complex issues regarding the roll-out of the new GLAS system and its management plans. He led a mass walk-out of over 500 farmers from Peacock’s of Maam Cross almost two weeks ago after Department of Agriculture officials hosted a meeting in an attempt to explain the new system.
At the Maam Cross meeting, the concerned commonage farmers asked department officials to defer such explanatory meetings until ‘there was a clarification over legal questions and until the various issues about the collective agreement were discussed’.
A front-page report in last week’s Farming Independent stated that ‘Mayo’s renowned Greenway cycle route could be closed if farmers in the west restrict access to hill and commonage lands in the latest escalation of their dispute over the proposed Rural Development Programme.
It stated that while farmers had refused to be drawn-out on the possible protests, the ‘closure of the Greenway would mark a major escalation in the dispute’.Public access to sections of the Great Western Greenway depends on the goodwill of farmers. The 42km cycleway, which runs from Westport to Achill, has become a major tourism amenity, with huge benefits for the local economy.