Carnalway situation remains unhappy

The recent escalation of the Carnalway right of way row seems to be definitely headed for the unhappy situation of the courts.



With the erection of a spiked metal fence behind the timber one which caused the local controversy in the first place, any possibility of a negotiated settlement seems to have gone down with the last flood on the Liffey.

There was a distinct air of gloom in Brannockstown among some of the key people in the community who have been trying to have the matter resolved.

The Diary understands that a required permission from the Attorney General to take a right of way case against the landowner has been granted, and that the landowner had been written to with a view to having a last attempt at negotiation.

"It looks like there's no chance of talking it through now," John Brady said after the news of the iron fence.

Pastor Robert Dunlop was also pessimistic about a negotiation now. "I really don't know where it can go. It's a fortress mentality at this stage."



A local who fishes in the area talked to us as he prepared to do some evening angling at the weekend. "I can get into the water and work my way down the river," he said. "But if the flood comes down, there's no way I can get back out."

But he had sympathy for the landowner's situation at the same time.

"I was down here last week when somebody was cleaning up after people had been on the bank. He took up two black bags full of litter. I mean, if people can bring it in, surely they can bring it out?"

And thus is the root of most such problems. The unthinking, or uncaring, few who ruin things for everyone else.

Brian Byrne.