Lemanaghan bog heritage group hits out at 'misleading' description

Opponents of a plan to build a wind farm on the historic landscape of Lemanaghan Bog in West Offaly have described as “misleading” their characterisation as a “small opposition group” by proposers of the project.

The remarks were made in January 2025 at a meeting between the joint developers of the major energy project, Bord na Móna and SSE Renewables, and officials from An Coimisiún Pleanála. The project has since been designated as a Strategic Infrastructure Prohect (SID) which allows it to bypass the Offaly County Council planning process and proceed directly to the State planning board.

Responding to the remarks about their campaign of opposition to the proposed wind farm project, the members of the Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group pointed to the fact that “over 2,000 submissions” were made to Offaly County Council calling for the removal of the zoning of Lemanaghan Bog as an area open to consideration for wind energy.

“That level of engagement clearly demonstrates that concern about this proposal extends far beyond a small number of individuals” said a statement issued by the group, which has also questioned the methodology and validity” used to characterise the widespread community concern in such a way.

The group said the wider community had “no opportunity to participate or respond” to the manner in which they were depicted at the pre-consultation meeting, and they added that their concerns represent “a significant and engaged community” who are seeking to safeguard “an irreplacable part of Ireland's cultural and historical landscape.

The Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group, which has spearheaded a vigorous campaign of opposition to plans for the construction of a wind farm on the historic bog, claims that, for many people in the local commmunity, Lemanaghan is “not simply a tract of bogland” but as a“sacred historic landscape, containing over a thousand years of history, tradition, and archaeology.

They also point out that the strong public engagement seen in the thousands of submissions reflects “the depth of feeling locally about protecting that heritage.”

The significance of the site was further underpinned in the recent discovery of previously unknown human burials dating back 1,000–1,300 years, close to St Mella’s Cell within the monastic enclosure, according to the group.

Documentation from the pre-consultation meetings which took place between Bord na Móna and SSE Renewables and officials from An Coimisiún Pleanála in September 2021 and again in January and December 2025 reveal that the closest dwelling to the proposed site is 896 metres away and the total area of the site is approximately 1,200 hectares. A brief overview of the project given to the first meeting of 2025 stated that the planning being sought would include a 220 kilovolt onsite substation and 15 turbines with a tip height of 220 metres, blade length of 75 metres and hub height of 145 metres.