Monks protest over wind farm Cistercian monks in Ireland have joined forces with local farmers to protest at plans to construct a mast and huge windmills in an area of exceptional natural beauty. Fr Eamonn Fitzgerald, abbot of Mount Melleray monastery in County Waterford, has written to the county council to express his community's concerns over the Duke of Devonshire's project. Planning permission for a monitor mast was granted in January.
Opponents plan to lodge an official appeal.
The monks, hill farmers, and even some of the local gentry are united in their objections to the project. Mount Melleray is a popular pilgrim site attracting thousands of visitors each year. Campaigners say the windmills' rotating blades will cause noise pollution and destroy the visual beauty of what is one of Ireland's most famous landscapes. We are for renewable energy in the appropriate place. One just has to accept that there will be people for and people against.