Mary’s Quite Contrary About M11 Proposals

She’s a woman well known for letting her feelings be known, no matter how unpopular they might be.

And now Mary Coughlan is turning her ire on the new M11 proposals that have shook the local community.

Pointing out that Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s plans to basically plough a road through the Glen Of The Downs would “go ahead over my dead body“, Coughlan told extra.ie, “This is a protected area; it is impossible to get planning permission for even a shed up here.”

Which is perhaps the reason that Transport Infrastructure Ireland have put forward three highly ludicrous alternatives, two taking a crap on Delgany village and the other on Rocky Valley.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful place to live,” continues Coughlan, “with lots of wildlife, like badgers and hedgehogs, running around. These plans will totally desecrate the area.”

Noting that similar plans were proposed around the Little Sugar Loaf a few years ago, Coughlan pointed out, “we stopped them then, we will do it again. If I have to go and do a sit in, I will.”

Currently living the high-ish life up by the Little Sugar Loaf, Coughlan’s argument is backed by neighbour Fia Caoimh, the architect – and light aircraft enthusiast – who is spearheading a campaign to stop the new road proposals. “Ever since I first moved here, I felt very strongly that I should protect this area,” says Caoimh. “We have only been working on this campaign for ten days and we already have 2,400 signatures, and we’re expecting to get more than 3,000 in total.”

Appreciating that the traffic jams need to be addressed, Caoimh argues that the planners hadn’t properly accounted for the local wildlife and landscape. “We’re asking to bring the highway further down so we can protect the landscape,” he says. “Glen Of The Downs is one of Ireland’s greatest beauty spots, boasting a 2km-long wooded glacial valley.”

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, public transport, people, with dirty big park’n’rides all the way down that bastard N11. That would reduce the traffic rather than increasing the tarmac. And the chaos.

You can sign the Glen Of The Downs petition against the new M11 proposals right here, and the Delgany petition here. Submissions and objections noting your concerns can be emailed to [email protected] – form here [download before filling out and emailing] – by Friday 13th December 2019. Pics courtesy of Irish Film & Television Services, independent.ie [Mary] and Tony Brierton [aerial].