This Land Is Our Land?

Jennifer Whitmore Ballydonagh Lane THURS12SEPT24

t was pretty clear almost immediately last Saturday when the 197 acres of Bellevue Demesne went up for sale that this was something pretty close to the perfect opportunity.

And, as with most opportunities, timing plays a crucial part, this chunk of woodland and farmland up for grabs when the Irish Government are sitting on a €3.5b Climate & Nature Fund.

The Irish Government headed up by local lad-done-good, Simon Harris. Who might be aware that there’s a general election coming up over the hill pretty soon.

And then there’s the little fact that we need a little more nature around here to balance out all that fresh concrete over the past 10 years that has turned us into the garden patio of Ireland.

So, purchasing this land – which overlaps into Bellevue Woods – would give us a nature reserve big enough to happily get lost in, making its purchase by the State a win-win-probable-win situation.

“I’m really hopeful that the State will purchase this land,” says Jennifer Whitmore TD when we met up at the Kindlestown Upper site this afternoon. “It makes sense on a number of levels. Nature needs it, the community wants it, we have climate and nature restoration targets to meet, and there are huge pots of money, like the Apple fund, that are available. It just needs political will now.”

Which is why Whitmore set up a petition on Sunday (already at 3,000 signatures), and is planning a meeting down at The Horse & Hound. She also recommends people send Simon a quick email.

“If the land is purchased, then the next step is to develop a management plan for it. Ideally the new land would be regenerated using seed stock from the Glen of the Downs. This would need to be fenced off to prevent deer from destroying new growth and a monitoring for other invasive would be needed.

“But this is all possible. Indeed, I’ve spoken to Coillte and the National Parks & Wildlife Service about this previously, and they were open to a management partnership in this area.

“But first, we need the land…”

You can sign that petition here, check out the real estate brochure here, explore the history of the ancient site here, and join us for a ramble chat below…

That public meeting is taking place on Tuesday, September 24th at The Horse & Hound from 7.30pm. Details here.