Louth Green Candidate calls for Furry Glen protection

Local Green Party Candidate Gerard Crawley has called for the protection of the Furry Glen area between the Ardee and Carrick Roads.

Mr Crawley said that: “Around twenty years ago I moved from rural Louth to the Carrick Road area of Dundalk.

“I discovered an oasis of green space between the Ardee Road and the Carrick Road. At the time this comprised the Grammar School Field, Hiney Park, wild council land colloquially referred to as the Furry Glen, a wooded area west of these, marshland to the east and other bits and pieces. Much of this land appears to have been left relatively undisturbed for decades.

“My young family regularly enjoyed exploring this land to play hurling, kick ball, fly kites, see wild rabbits and birds, watch frogspawn progress to tadpoles etc. We would also meet innumerable people out playing, walking their dogs, running, jogging, walking, even cycling”

“A number of years ago 8-foot fences were erected around a substantial area of this green space, rendering it inaccessible to the public.

“The enclosed Grammar School [athletics] Field is now rarely used. In addition to the field, other areas were closed off by the fence.

“The laneway adjacent to this fence is the access route to the other areas. It still provides a walking route from the Carrick Road Mace/Oriel Park to the old Mounthamilton estate on the Ardee road.

“However, it was fundamentally damaged (left sloped and uneven) when the fence was erected and remains potentially hazardous to walk on.”

More recently, Hiney Park was acquired by the Grammar School and has since been similarly fenced off, a move which, Mr Crawley says, further reduced public access in the area.

“Sometime later an agricultural contractor was engaged to cut the wild grass in another section of the land. It appears that they had already started to mow the well-established, clumpy wild grass in the Furry Glen before someone pointed out to them that they were on Louth County Council (LCC) land.

“Had they not been interrupted by a passer-by the habitat would have been decimated.”

Mr Crawley has said he has corresponded with the council since 2020 seeking a meeting with officials to discuss the protection of this area and to see if it can be redesignated as a public park or nature reserve.

“I advocate exploring with LCC and the Grammar School as to whether they would commit their portions of the land there to a nature restoration project. I understand that it was previously attempted to get some of this land zoned residential, but councillors voted against this. At any rate, the green space seems to comprise a patchwork of tracts of different ownerships. One would expect that this would limit any development proposals for it,” he said.

He continued: “The small area next to the Carrick Road is the perfect size and position for a children’s play park, badly needed in light of new estates like Mounthamilton, the expansion of Lis Na Dara and the rejuvenation of mature estates like Ard Easmuinn and Willow Grove.

“I believe the entrances and exits to this green space should be upgraded and regularised. I and others have lifted litter from the land but organised and coordinated action will need to be taken to clean up human refuse and prevent dumping in future.

“As the green space is the pedestrian link between the Carrick and Ardee Roads, it is also part of the Famine Graveyard Walk (please see DundalkFamine

Graveyard.com) for those in the Dundalk Carlingford LEA.

“The Draft Dundalk Development plan will be out for public consultation in the coming weeks. That should be an opportunity for concerned citizens to try to enhance/protect this area. Irrespective of whether I am successful in the election I intend to continue to campaign to protect this green space. However, I feel if elected I could progress it more quickly. If elected I will make it a top priority to engage with my council colleagues on this.

“In this, National Biodiversity Week Ireland 2024, I call on all existing and future council members and other stakeholders to consider and support my proposals.”