An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for a residential development in Clifden, Co Galway, which could have had a serious impact on one of the town's finest views of Connemara.
The board turned down planning permission for a mixed residential development involving 20 houses and apartments on the Westport road.
Parish priest Fr James Ronayne and developer Pádraig Flaherty, had appealed against the original permission granted by Galway County Council last year, with the priest being supported by Clifden Parish Pastoral Council.
Mr Flaherty had appealed against one of the 20 conditions which required him to reduce the scale of the development from 20 units to 18. Fr Ronayne was concerned about the visual impact on the landscape and skyline and the impact on the Catholic church and adjoining sites, including a nuns' graveyard, the parochial house and primary school. St Joseph's church is listed as a protected structure.
The parish council argued that the proposed development would be visible from Sky Road, looking down to the Protestant and Catholic churches and taking in one of Connemara's most famous views.
Mr Flaherty has already built about 50 houses on a lower-lying section in the same area.