Quarry protest

24-hour surveillance at contentious Kilmaine quarry

Claire Egan

GARDAÍ in south Mayo had to mount a 24-hour surveillance operation over the weekend at a contentious quarry, after local protesters refused to leave the scene as operators attempted to detonate explosives.
On Friday afternoon last explosives were delivered to a quarry, operated by Mr David Coleman at Ballynacarragh, Kilmaine. The land is currently under lease agreement from a Mr Jim Farragher and has been used over the past number of decades for quarry activities and associated works.
Explosives were delivered to the site on Friday, with the intention of blasting later on that day. However, proceedings were called to a halt following the refusal of three protesters to leave the safety exclusion zone.
The trio remained at the scene for the duration of the weekend and Gardaí were forced to maintain a 24-hour surveillance watch over the explosives until they were detonated late on Monday afternoon.
“Explosives were delivered to the scene on Friday afternoon last. It was not possible to detonate at that time because a number of people had joined to protest and were in close proximity to the explosion zone. As a result Gardaí maintained 24-hour surveillance over the explosives out of concern for human life, livestock and property,” said an official Garda spokesperson.
According to local protesters, the quarry at Ballynacarragh is being operated illegally and their protest was motivated by concerns for their quality of life and property.
“As far as we are concerned, this is an illegal operation and the operators of this quarry are not complying with the correct rules and regulations. There are serious issues in terms of dust and pollutants. On top of that, our property is being devalued by the proximity of a quarry to our land and furthermore there is the damage to our quality of life. Last summer, we had to endure high levels of dust rising on the road as traffic went in and out of the quarry,” said Mr Sean Joyce, a resident of Ballinacarra.
“Historically, quarrying has taken place at this area but nothing of this scale and size,”added Mr Joyce.
When contacted by The Mayo News, quarry operator Mr David Coleman maintained that all activities at the site were legal and that he was fully compliant with all terms and conditions.
At present, a planning application is with Mayo County Council for the ‘continued operation of existing quarry development and all ancillary activities’. A decision is due on April 3.
“The application is for the continued use of the quarry and, as I stated, we have been fully compliant with all terms and conditions. Only three people gathered to protest and as a result we had to suspend detonation. We detonated explosives on Monday afternoon and we are now operating the quarry,” concluded Mr Coleman.