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Picnic @ Old Head Of Kinsale

category national | miscellaneous | news report author Friday June 27, 2003 09:01author by Ray

(This) Sunday June 29th at 2 pm Join the picnic at the Old Head of Kinsale. (Bus leaves the Opera House, Cork City at 12.30 pm) Bring music, attitude, food and all the family.

Background:

GENERAL:The millionaire O'Connor brothers purchased the Old Head of Kinsale in the 90s and turned it into an exclusive golf club with annual green fees of E50,000. Shortly after they barred the public from their traditional walking route out to scenic Old Head of Kisale lighthouse. For two years running an alliance of walkers, ramblers and activists have been demanding that the Golf Course allow the public unhindered access to the traditional walking area. Be there and walk for your rights... and help to regain access to this scenic area for the people of the area and for generations to come.
LATEST: The first protest of this Summer 2003, in May, was met by heavy-handed Garda tactics (see web address below for pictures and report) in defence of the millionaire O'Connors. In the interval since then a decision was taken to formally set up a Free The Old Head Campaign. For the first time walkers and protestors failed in their efforts to walk along this scenic route. This is now the organising group for the Old Head Campaign. It can be contacted at freeoldhead@hotmail.com
___________________________________________________
Inf. and local news provided by Workers Solidarity Movement - Cork
Email: cork_wsm@yahoo.com
Visit our web site at http://struggle.ws/wsm/cork.html

(reposted by me from Ainriail list - Ray)

Comments (11 of 11)

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author by Anonymouspublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 12:57author address author phone

Has this issue been brought to court at any stage?

author by jppublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 12:58author address author phone

get some local people from the old head or ballinspittle or kinsale involved,do a public meeting in kinsale or ballinspittle,this way you might actually get local people supporting you and not being nearly as hostile to ye as the owners of the old head.

author by Raypublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 13:16author address author phone

I understand it went to the supreme court, who backed the golf club. If you follow the link to the Cork anarchism web page you should find more details.

author by Andrewpublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 13:38author address author phone

The last time we posted a notice for this protest to indymedia there was some controversy because some lazy journalist decided this must mean we were organising the protest. Anyway here is a correction letter we subsequently sent to the Examiner - don't know if they actually printed it or not.

Incidentally there are also articles on the 'Old Head' at http://struggle.ws/wsm/environment.html

To:
The Irish Examiner
Academy Street
Cork

May 20th, 2003

Dear Sir,

The article on the picnic protest at the Old Head of Kinsale Golf Course (Irish Examiner, May 18th) was incorrect. It stated that the Workers Solidarity Movement and the Cork Anti-War Campaign were the organisers of the event. On behalf of the Workers Solidarity Movement I would like to clarify for the record that we were not the organisers of last Sunday's picnic protest. As an anarchist organisation we wholeheartedly supported the protest but our involvement in the campaign has always been through the broad-based Free The Old Head Campaign - the actual organisers of Sunday's event.

You quote Mr O'Connor as saying that the protesters on Sunday had 'no mandate or no accountability'. Whatever about the veracity of this claim, one has to ask in reply: what is his mandate? We know he is a millionaire and that he has purchased the land on which his golf course is situated. But, it must be emphasised, Mr O'Connor does not own the Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse nor does he own the coastline surrounding it - yet we are all being denied access to these. It needs to be emphasised that tens of thousands of people have enjoyed the pleasures and the scenic beauty of the Old Head over the decades. Is such a peaceful and relatively passive recreational activity really such a grave threat to 'a game of golf'? I'd doubt it. Mr O'Connor's real interest appears to be in the marketing of the scenery and pleasures of the Old Head of Kinsale to a small and exclusive set of very wealthy clients. Perhaps this explains why he is so heavy-handed and intransigent in his dealing with the Free the Old Head Campaign.

Yours etc.,

Kevin Doyle
Workers Solidarity Movement
Cork

author by Mick Flintpublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 14:52author address author phone

Then count me in! What's the story with metal spikes? Are there local rules in force which mandate the use of plastic ones on golf shoes? Will the fee include the rent of a buggy?

author by Mr Edpublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 15:32author address author phone

Will the Large Garda be present again?

author by Curiouspublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 15:37author address author phone

Domnic Haugh will be there.

author by Anonymouspublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 15:46author address author phone

I found the info. regarding the legal situation on http://struggle.ws/wsm/cork.html a bit scant though.

According to www.theirishcrimes.com its ongoing in the courts but bogged down (not too sure the date of this piece though):-

"Protests are currently taking place at a rate of about one a month, during the summer season. The court action by An Bord Pleanala is bogged down in the Courts ,but with both parties becoming more entrenched it looks like the Campaign to free the old head of Kinsale may take another few years."

Stumbled across a Cork Indymedia page along the way. Whats the story with that!?

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~indycork/

author by Raypublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 16:07author address author phone

I don't know what the latest is there... I know there were a bunch of people interested in creating a Cork indymedia (and there were other possible local groups elsewhere), though they were interested in creating something less computer-based than indymedia.ie. The regional categorisation offered by Oscailt may mean people don't need to create their own sites, but I don't know. (The general attitude of the indymedia collective to local groups is that we think they'd be great, but they have to come from below, and they have to decide for themselves what they want to do and how they want to relate to .ie)

author by Anonymouspublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 17:43author address author phone

I see. Certainly would be a good idea I reckon for Indymedia Worldwide, in the longterm, to have Indymedia's in all cities around the world - indeed anywhere there are computers!

(God will this fucking day ever end!!......

author by c**tpublication date Fri Jun 27, 2003 23:03author address author phone

Large Garda Presence
by Mr Ed Friday, Jun 27 2003, 2:32pm


Will the Large Garda be present again?

cool


cool


cool


cool


cool

:-)



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