Friends of the Irish Environment has withdrawn an appeal to An Bord Pleanala against the erection of an RTE television mast in a sensitive location in west Cork because of intimidation by persons unknown.
Mr Tony Lowes, a founder member of FIE, said the intimidation included threatening telephone calls to his home and the receipt in the post of an envelope containing a spent bullet. A Garda spokesman confirmed yesterday that a complaint had been made on behalf of Mr Lowes and was being investigated.
FIE has objected to the 60-foot mast being erected beside Myross graveyard, a listed archaeological site on a hillside above Leap, Co Cork. Mr Lowes described it as an "absolutely magical place" which should be left alone.
Locals have been campaigning for years to get television reception in the Leap area. They were dismayed when an earlier plan was rejected by An Bord Pleanala following an appeal by An Taisce in west Cork, submitted by Mr Lowes.
After Cork County Council sanctioned a revised plan from RTE, under which the mast would be relocated less than seven feet from the original site, FIE appealed to An Bord Pleanala, arguing that an alternative location should be found for the mast.
"Then the phone calls started. One man left a message on my Telecom answering device saying `if you don't withdraw the appeal, I'll bust your f***ing head in.' Some days later, the spent bullet arrived in an envelope with a note saying `from Leap, Co Cork'."
Shortly afterwards, Dr Sara Dillon, another founder-member of FIE, who had also received telephone calls, wrote to the board withdrawing its appeal because the "pressure and intimidation" had become so intense that it was "no longer safe or wise to continue".
Dr Dillon said she did not want FIE to be "fighting old-age pensioners who haven't had television for 30 years. That's something we do care about. But I also believe that the public authorities have a responsibility to look for suitable sites for masts."
Mr Lowes reported both the threatening telephone message and the spent bullet to the Garda, who requested Telecom to hold the message. He completed forms to allow the Garda to investigate its contents and source.
Last week, he wrote to the chairman of An Bord Pleanala, Mr Paddy O'Duffy, requesting his assistance. He has asked Mr O'Duffy to write to the Garda explaining that FIE's appeal was not "frivolous or vexatious".
Referring to the strength of local feeling against the appeal, Mr Lowes said: "I don't think they understand what we're trying to say. They just regard us as a group of interfering strangers when it's really an argument about finding an alternative site."
He admitted he had been "a bit shaken" by the intimidation but was "unbowed". He also pointed out that there was another appeal in the Myross mast case, from Mr Malcolm Coxall, an environmental activist based in Co Mayo.
