09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008 - Political Quote

Political Quote

The Internet home of Keith Martin : a blog of Political news, opinion, quotes and analysis

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Monday, September 29, 2008

Urgent PR Undercurrent opens on Thursday

12:56 AM 0

Water and what lurks beneath is the subject matter for UNDERCURRENT an exhibition of art by Westport artist Karen O'Reilly.   The exhibition opens this Thursday October 2nd at 6pm in Westport library.  The exhibition will be opened by journalist Liamy MacNally.

 

Of her work Karen explains that "living in a coastal town with the Carrowbeg river running through it and  being surrounded by waters of Clew Bay led me to explore  waters marine life and flora through my use of materials and processes. Initially my considerations of compositional elements are a motivational factor which may become obscured at a later stage as the piece becomes less representational as layer after layer the work is engulfed by creative freedom. Texture, tone and colour are the key to the final outcome of my work."

 

Karen O Reilly qualified with a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art & Design at GMIT in 2006.  This is her first solo exhibition after exhibiting twice in group shows, first her graduation exhibition and secondly an exhibition hosted by Castlebar hospital entitled 'Turas' in 2006.

 

UNDERCURRENT is being exhibited as part of the 2008 Westport Arts Festival and will run at Westport library until Saturday October 11th.
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Saturday, September 27, 2008

3:46 PM 0

My observation to Bord Pleanala

An Observation on PL 16 230477 Eircom Mast Killadoon, Aillemore, Co Mayo

I wish to make the following observation in relation to this planning application.

The proposed mast is within the curtailage of the Killadoon Megalithic Standing Stones (Menhirs) and would have a negative impact on these historic monuments.

The height of the mast means it would tower over the site of the standing stones and detract from their impact and integrity as part of the landscape.

The location of the mast directly adjacent to the site means that it would not be possible to minimise, through planting etc, the impact of the mast on the standing stones.

The history and impact of the standing stones is well documented and the value of the stones from a heritage and tourism aspect would be greatly damaged by the mast.

The residents of the area are very proud of the standing stones and the Community Council has even removed buildings from the area which were encroaching on the stones and detracting from their integrity and impact. The construction of the mast would be a retrograde development in this light.

In the interests of proper planning and development I submit that this application be refused as it impinges on the integrity of the nearby standing stones of Killadoon.
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Sunday, September 14, 2008

Anti-Mining Cllr says Gold Company full of hot air

4:09 PM 0

Westport Labour Cllr Keith Martin, who opposed the recent proposal to mine for gold in west Mayo, says the announcement by Mayo's Gold that the company was "actively and seriously considering'' a legal challenge to Minister for Natural Resources Eamon Ryan's decision to decline prospecting licences amounted to nothing more than "hot air and a refusal to face the facts of the matter."

 

Cllr Keith Martin, who led Westport Town Council's opposition to the mining in support of organizations like Mayo Environmental Group and Westport Tourism, says that Mayo's Gold has failed to accept that the environmental and tourism costs of mining far outweighed any amount of gold extraction.

 

According to the Labour councillor "The Donegal mining company wanted to mine 10,000 ounces a year from Cregganbawn alone.  According to the Dept of Natural Resources there are 6g of gold per ton of rock to a depth of 80 metres.  When you take into account that one once is equal to 28g you can see how much rock will have to be mined and to what depths to meet this target."

 

"This is large scale mining yet the company keeps referring to a "small scale project" and a "tourism mine".  The company's website refers to "Geo-Tourism".  This is a cynical attempt to portray this as an environmental project.  These are nothing but weasel words designed to soften opposition to the project which is to be used as the thin end of a wedge to establish a full size mining operation close to Croagh Patrick."

 

In the local media Mayo's Gold has been talking about the seven dwarfs and a tourism mine while in the national papers they were talking about raising €25 million to set it up. That's some seven dwarf mine that costs €25 million! They expect to find a possible yield of €3.4 billion so you know that this is a serious operation designed to bring in whole-scale Gold mining by the back door into an environmentally sensitive, culturally and religiously important area with a massive tourism value as it is."

 

"This proposal to mine in the environs of Croagh Patrick and through 135 townlands of Mayo would be an environmental and tourism disaster for Mayo.  The Minister has weighed up the pros and cons of allowing this company from Donegal to mine in Mayo and has come to the correct, reasonable and understandable decision that mining would not be suitable here.  For Mayo's Gold to suggest that the decision was in someway incorrect is nothing more than hot air and a refusal to face the facts of the matter."

 

 

 

Sources

 

Sunday Business Post - Gold company considers action against minister

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=news-qqqid=35920-qqqx=1.asp

 

Dept of Natural Resources Report of gold amounts in Ireland

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/NR/rdonlyres/03E171C9-4C17-46F0-8A9C-9B73F416CD4B/0/golda4pd.pdf

 

 
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Friday, September 5, 2008

End of the world

2:08 AM 0
Some 6,000 scientists say that the Large Hadron Collider built under France and Switzerland could cause the end of the world.

100 metres below ground and 16km long it collides matter to create anti-matter and possibly mini-black holes. It takes 90 milliseconds to circulate protons to collide which each other.

First trial is Sept 10th 2008.

Here is the rap song to explain it all. If it does destroy the world it will be a distraction from Brian Cowen's mishandling of the Irish economy.
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Wednesday, September 3, 2008

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Letter to the Editor

1:26 AM 0


Dear Editor,
 
The deployment of the warship LE Orla in Broadhaven Bay as part of the State's security provision for the Corrib gas project is a gross overreaction by the government which will only escalate tensions and costs in relation to the situation in Rossport.

The fact that protesters have been using canoes to deliver messages to the pipelaying ship and that protesters were preparing to swim out in wetsuits to the ship does not warrant the deployment of a warship in the bay.  What damage these canoeists or swimmers can do to the 1,000 foot long vessel is beyond my comprehension.

The Gardai have their own speed boats and sub-aqua division and can deal with any breaches of the law. The positioning of the warship LE Orla in the bay is a misuse of our navy and a completely disproportionate reaction. Its like using a hammer to swat a fly. The involvement of the military in any "policing" matter should be a last resort.

The Government should be de-escalating the situation in Rossport not involving the military. 
 
Is the next step for the government to place tanks on the Hill of Tara?
 
Yours sincerely
 
Keith Martin
Councillor Westport Town Council, Westport, Mayo
086 0691182 m
098 24852 h
098 25747 w
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