Opposition to masts erected on the historical site of Vinegar Hill overlooking Enniscorthy in Wexford.
Vinegar Hill overlooking the town of Enniscorthy in County Wexford is one of the most famous sites of the 1798 Rebellion. The ruin of a windmill on Vinegar Hill used by the insurgents is a national monument.
Some structures on Vinegar Hill are not welcomed by local people. In the late 1950s, the Post Office and the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) put up a mast. More recently, without any planning permission, the Dublin District Milk Board erected another mast a little higher up the hill. This mast is surrounded by fencing and has a small hut beside it.
While the lack of planning permission is an issue, Seán Doyle of the National Graves Association (NGA) is more concerned by the inappropriate use of this historical site, famed throughout Ireland. The NGA feels the mast is a disgrace,
It's wrong for anybody to erect any structure here even with planning permission.
Seán Doyle reckons the mast could serve the same purpose in another location. He also objects to the original mast.
I think all interested bodies should get together now and demand the removal of this structure.
Chairman of the Enniscorthy Urban Council Michael Tracey also thinks a national monument is the wrong location for a mast and wants it constructed elsewhere.
The mast supplies a service to farmers, but Enniscorthy Urban District Councillor Morgan Dunne says it is wrong that is was erected without any reference to the planning authoriothy. Rather than being the location of unsightly masts, he would like to see more amenities and facilities around Vinegar Hill to encourage tourists. to the area. He worries that the existing masts could encourage the construction of more masts at the site.
I think it would be terrible if the whole place was going to be cluttered up with those kind of structures.
This episode of 'Newsbeat' was broadcast on 10 December 1969. The reporter is Cathal O'Shannon.
