August 23, 2003
Windswept
Bellacorrick (and the whole Erris area) is eager to embrace new forms of energy - witness the plan to add to the existing windfarm, which will make it the largest in Europe. There is a tradition of electricity production in the area - there has been a peat-powered electricity station for years, though its future is uncertain.
They hope to make some form of heritage centre from the station if it closed down, which is probably better than just demolishing it like they did in Ferbane. In London, they made a modern art museum of a disused power station, but there's probably not the same drawing power in north Mayo or the Bog of Allen.
Apart from the ecological benefits of windpower, and the abundance of winds blowing in off the Atlantic, there are also generous grant aid from the EU (no surprise there). In Denmark, farmers have taken to this incentive in large numbers - they form co-ops to buy and erect the wind turbines.
Windfarm off the west coast of Denmark
In Ireland, the ESB must purchase any power produced from independent power providers, and 'green' power commands a premium. A couple of weeks ago, there was some controversy in Kerry, where plans by a farmers group was held up by a study to see of the wind turbines would endanger hen harriers who were breeding in the area. The study concluded that there would not be a danger, but not before some farmers had threatened to kill all the birds they could find. Which shows there is no shortage of fools in Kerry. No such nastiness occurred during the planning process in Mayo, and I glimpsed what looked like a harrier not so far from Bellacorrick a few weeks ago.
Bellacorrick also has a musical bridge, though the last time I drove over it, all I heard was a rattling exhaustpipe. Apparently, if you skip a stone along the bridge, you heard a melodic sound.
I suspect that the fact that the 'musical' bridge is beside a pub (The Musical Bridge Inn) is not unconnected.
Posted by Monasette at August 23, 2003 07:29 PM | TrackBack
While visiting Erris with a local school teacher this summer I was subjected to the tradition...If it is your first time crossing the bridge you pick one of the stones left by others and then you have to run accross the bridge rubbing the stone on the top of the bridge as you go. It is really strange but true that the different capstones on the bridge have different tones and the resulting 'music' is not unlike the sound the musical 'jack in the box' makes when you crank the handle!
Posted by: Robert McLoughlin at September 18, 2004 02:44 AMWhile visiting Erris with a local school teacher this summer I was subjected to the tradition...If it is your first time crossing the bridge you pick one of the stones left by others and then you have to run accross the bridge rubbing the stone on the top of the bridge as you go. It is really strange but true that the different capstones on the bridge have different tones and the resulting 'music' is not unlike the sound the musical 'jack in the box' makes when you crank the handle!
Posted by: Robert McLoughlin at September 18, 2004 02:45 AM