Coole area joins windfarm protest movement

The only way to combat the resources of Mainstream and Element, the two private companies hoping to "fill the midlands landscape with monster turbines", was by "mass community protest", Andrew Duncan, Lakelands Windfarm Information, told a filled Coole Hall on Monday night.
“Mass community objection is the only way to stop this," Mr Duncan stated.

"We are lucky in Westmeath we have politicians with backbone who have stuck to their guns but marching in Dublin and in Mullingar has also shown the government that communities do not want these industrial turbines in their areas and that they want to protect people living near them from the damage it will do to their health and stop the beautiful landscape being destroyed.”

Deputy Robert Troy praised the delay that people power had won the protest groups:
“Politicians will repay the trust that has been shown to them by the people who elected them by representing them on this issue,” he said.

The meeting was organised by Alan McCabe to join the protest campaign against the proposed erection of industrial wind turbines in the midlands.

This group, number 16 in Westmeath, is made up of individuals concerned that Element Power and Mainstream are proposing to place giant wind turbines on cutaway bogs and associated areas between Coole and Finea in north Westmeath.

Addressing the meeting were seasoned campaigners from Lakelands Windfarm Information Group, Andrew Duncan, Sean Casey and Frank Kiernan.

* Note, this story was edited on Sunday October 27 at 4.30pm in response to a comment from a reader. We have added quotation marks around the words "fill the midlands landscape with monster turbines" to make it clear that Andrew Duncan said them at the meeting and our reporter was not offering a comment on the wind turbines.