THERE WERE angry scenes at the monthly meeting of Enniscorthy Town Council when councillors were outraged that a person was given planning permission to “remove half of Vinegar Hill”.
The desecration of a national heritage site is how excavation work on Vinegar Hill in Wexford is being described by some councillors.
Cllr Paddy Kavanagh was outraged at the decision by planners in Wexford County Council to allow planning permission to go ahead. Permission was given to Michael Connors to erect a large metal shed behind his house on the site of the rebellion in 1798.
Works on the site have seen diggers cut into Vinegar Hill, and thousands of tonnes of stone and clay have been removed from the site. Mr Connors received planning permission from the council on March 27th this year, following three similar applications which had been turned down.
At this week’s meeting of Enniscorthy Town Council, councillors were incensed that this could happen to such an important historical Irish monument. Cllr Seán Doyle said Vinegar Hill was identified among 75 sites in Ireland of being of historical interest by a committee set up under Dick Roche in 2007.
It was the only site identified in Wexford and Mr Doyle said what was happening now was a disgrace.