Residents in Kilmeague stage protest over destruction of cobble footpath which is over 100 years old

By Kim O'Leary Local residents in the village of Kilmeague were out in force this morning to stage a protest over the destruction of a valuable cobble path dating back more than 100 years. Earlier this morning at 7am Monday, February 4, Kilmeague residents could be seen holding signs and wearing high-visibility vests as they staged the protest to stop works by Kildare County Council on the cobble path in the village. Local resident and spokesperson for the group in Kilmeague,  Frank Maher, explained to KildareNow: "Myself and local residents from Kilmeague village were out with our signs earlier this morning as part of a protest to stop Kildare County Council from tearing down this cobble path, which dates back over 180 years and is a part of the village's heritage. Last Tuesday without warning diggers pulled up and destroyed the cobble footpath with Kildare County Council citing 'health and safety reasons' for the proposed removal of the footpath. But we, the residents, don't want a concerete footpath instead of the cobbles, it's part of the local heritage." [caption id="attachment_266935" align="alignnone" width="371"] The cobble footpath in Kilmeague village[/caption]   Mr Maher continued to say that there was an emergency meeting held on Saturday, February 2 at Eleson House in Kilmeague, organised by Tomas Dunne of Kilmeague Tidy Towns to discuss the footpath and the protection of other local heritage. Meanwhile, there will be another meeting at the Eleson House in the lounge in Kilmeague at 8 0'clock tonight. Speaking to KildareNow, Tomas Dunne, Chairperson of Kilmeague Tidy Towns, said: "The Council wants to bulldoze the footpath, to get rid of it completely and fill it with concrete with no other option available. We had absolutely no notice when diggers came in and started ripping up the footpath last Tuesday (29 January) at 8am in the morning. We're holding another meeting tonight in the Eleson House lounge in Kilmeague at 8pm." Meanwhile, Frank Maher described the cobble footpath as 'a central feature of the village'. He said: "It is totally disrespectful to the residents in the area to remove the cobble footpath it is a central feature of the village. The Council has said that they intend to remove the footpath on the grounds of health and safety, but we don't accept that as the footpath is protected by law and the Development Plan for the area, they've broken the law as the plan clearly states that original paving and cobbles must be protected. We can't even repair a wall in the village without approval from the Council, and now they want to just rip up the cobble path and there's another granite path in danger too. We don't want this to happen and we're doing whatever we can to stop it." According to the local development plan for Kilmeague, it states that it is an objective of the Council to: 'Ensure that non structural elements of the village such as the original paving and cobbles, stone walls, plaques, etc, are treated as an integral part of the village character and are protected from destruction and destruction and inappropriate development.' Kildare County Council has been contacted by KildareNow in relation to the discussed issue and as of yet has not responded at the time of writing. [caption id="attachment_266918" align="alignnone" width="300"] Local residents with signs this morning in Kilmeague village. Pic courtesy of Frank Maher[/caption]     [caption id="attachment_266919" align="alignnone" width="225"] Locals are protesting and campaigning to save the cobble footpath in the village of Kilmeague. Pic Frank Maher[/caption]