Mass Path To Nowhere…?

Drummin Mass Path behind bars

s is often the case in sunny Ireland, heads are often banged between those who respect history and those who are keen to rewrite it.

When it comes to the ancient mass paths in our area, that particular breed of headbanging has been going on for quite some time now.

The centre of it all is the obstruction of the very last stretch of the path as Drummin Lane meets Farrankelly Road. Local business Kelly Drain Services Ltd bought this particular patch, which had been battled over before, and they quickly constructed a 2.4m palisade fence around what they’re now treating as a depot. Naturally, the ancient mass path [above]  is inside that locked depot.

We were here last July, with a group of concerned locals – including Lalli de Buitléar, Eithne Dalby and Grainne McLoughlin – which resulted in Wicklow County Council sending a warning letter over ‘alleged unauthorised development’ to the Kelly family on January 13th of this year. A council meeting mid-March called on the pilgrim path to be temporarily opened until the matter was resolved. 

Nothing changed. Other than the Kellys not renewing their Guide membership. They also cited Health & Safety issues, public liability and security issues. They suggest the mass path be re-routed.

The sad truth is, these centuries-old mass paths aren’t officially rights-of-way, an oversight on the part of Wicklow County Council. Maybe no-one thought such ancient history needed to papers to prove their worth?

Determined to open a greenway from Kilcoole beach to Delgany village using existing rights of way and these ancient mass paths, the newly-formed Kilcoole Walkways is a voluntary group who believe such heritage paths would not only preserve local history but also bring increased tourism to the area too. They fear though that Wicklow’s planning department is being unduly lenient on the Kellys possibly because the company do so much contract work for the council.

The Kellys’ suggestion that the mass path be diverted down the main road plainly doesn’t sit well with Aidan Smith from Kilcoole Walkways, and the group are calling on anyone with even a passing interest in local heritage and environment to contact their local TD and councillors to voice their objection to this ancient mass path being permanently blocked.

More urgently, the Kellys have filed a planning application to make their depot on Drummin Lane a permanent fixture, and you have until May 30th to send your objections. The application file number is 17/464, and you can view the details here. You can click on Scanned Files to view the application details.

After all, as Saint Joni of Mitchell warns, you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone…