GAA club appeals forestry decision

A north Mayo GAA club is appealing a decision to allow 30 acres of forestry to be planted beside its grounds.

Ballycastle GAA club and members of the local community are opposed to the plans by Coillte, the national forestry agency, to plant the trees close to several houses and to Tom Langan GAA Park.

This week, the GAA club will submit its appeal to the Department of Agriculture and an online petition has hundreds of signatures.

Ballycastle GAA club has invested in its facilities, with a state-of-the-art clubhouse opened in August 2022.

The club fears that the forestry would be detrimental to its pitches and facilities and has flagged health-and-safety concerns, particularly for underage members.

“There is huge concern, locally, from a health-and-safety perspective, with increased traffic from forestry machinery and lorries, especially for our underage members, as it is in close proximity to where children regularly play,” says Ballycastle GAA club.

“It just didn’t need to be on top of us,” a club spokesperson told the Western People. “This is a health-and-safety risk that we don’t need.”

The club says that large trees block the light and that this will affect playing surfaces.

“Our grounds are a fantastic place to watch a match and there is also an incredible view of Ballycastle. There is going to be a huge impact on that,” added a club spokesperson.

There are also concerns about the impact on tourism and residents of large volumes of forestry-related machinery.

“Not only is this proposal adjacent to our club grounds, it is on the main route to Downpatrick Head, which sees thousands of tourists visit every year,” says the club. The community is also worried about the potential impact on waterways and says that the type of trees being planted will have few bio-diversity benefits.

There was no consultation with the community or GAA club ahead of the proposal. The project was approved by the department on January 22.

Local Fine Gael councillor Jarlath Munnelly says he will also be appealing the decision.

“I have been talking to residents and I will definitely be supporting them,” Mr Munnelly says.

“It’s a huge imposition. You would have to get planning permission to build anything else in that field, but forestry can, essentially, ignore planning. That’s wrong and it needs to change.

“Obviously, you have the GAA pitch right beside it and there are also a lot of houses nearby. It totally changes the landscape for them,” says Mr Munnelly.