Power To The People
The extraordinary case of Teresa Treacy versus Eirgrid/ESB caught the public imagination when an elderly woman was sent to the Joy.
Craig Fitzpatrick, 23 Nov 2011
In February 2006, construction began on a 110kV transmission powerline from Cushaling to Thornsbury, in county Offaly. The line, planned by Eirgrid, the company which manages the country’s power-grid, and being built by the ESB, was routed to pass through a property belonging to Teresa Treacy and her sister Mary.
To clear the route for the line would require the destruction of significant areas of woodland on the Treacy property. Teresa Treacy was convinced that this was unnecessary and wrong – and she opposed the plan tooth and nail.
She had several objections: for a start, there were health and safety concerns regarding the proximity of the pylons to her dwelling; she also objected to the fact that the lines would not be laid underground when she believed that this was the better option, and she was deeply distressed at the prospect of the destruction of the natural habitat on her land.
Originally, Teresa had been joined in her objections by other Offaly landowners. When compensation was agreed between the ESB and the Irish Farmers’ Association, her partners in protest backed down. Teresa herself refused a potential €150,000 payout, deciding to stand alone in her continuing opposition. The construction was given the go ahead and, inexorably, the wheels began to turn which would lead the diggers to her door.
During the summer, workmen from the ESB arrived at her gates. When she refused access to them, an application was made to the High Court to open the locks to her land – and this was granted. When she again refused access, contempt-of-court proceedings were initiated against her for refusing to obey a court order. On September 12, after Teresa had wilfully obstructed entrance to the land at the centre of the dispute, she was held in contempt of a High Court order, arrested and imprisoned.
In the wake of the decision to incarcerate a 65-year-old woman, there was an understandable public outcry and a surge of media coverage. RTÉ One’s flagship current affairs programme Prime Time picked up on the dispute. A camp was set up on Teresa’s land by other protestors, to offer resistance in her absence. A further protest, involving a one hundred-strong crowd, was held outside ESB offices in Dublin on October 4.
Page 1/4 <Previous 1 2 3 4 Next>
©Hot Press 2011. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy