New film features personal stories about battle against industrial wind turbines in Leighlin area
The Old Leighlin community has been fighting wind farm proposals since 2014
A LOCALLY made documentary highlighting Old Leighlin's decade-long battle against industrial wind will be shown at the Parish Centre, Leighlinbridge at 7.30pm and Sheerin’s Bar, The Ridge, Old Leighlin at 9pm on Culture Night, Friday 19 September.
The film features personal stories from affected residents, expert testimony on infrasound, and what one of the makers describe as “politicians’ unfulfilled promises” regarding wind farm developments.
Fiona Donnelly, an Old Leighlin resident who was involved in the making of the documentary and features in it, explained the community's motivation for creating the film themselves.
“If no one will tell our story, we’ll have to tell our own,” she said, citing what she sees as insufficient coverage of their concerns in mainstream media.
The documentary aims to counter what Ms Donnelly describes as pro-wind bias by presenting the story of how large-scale wind farms affect Irish communities.
Ms Donnelly emphasised that the community is not anti-renewable energy but specifically opposes inappropriately sited large-scale wind farms near populated areas.
Central to their concerns are what she describes as dangerously outdated government planning guidelines from 2006. “The guidelines for setback distance in 2006 was 500 metres based on a turbine of 50 metres in height. Now the turbines are 200 metres, and the setback distance is still the same.”
The Old Leighlin community has been fighting wind farm proposals since 2014, when they successfully opposed a 21-turbine development. However, developers returned with new proposals in 2021, reigniting the campaign.
