Brian Leddin

The Land Calls Again The fields where freedom once took root now call for protection

There is nobody that I'm aware of who is joining the dots between our economic model and the destruction of nature quite as well as Aislínn Kelly is. This thoughtful and articulate opinion piece deserves to be widely read.

open.substack.com/pub/aislinna...

Episode 1: IPCC Scientist Professor Peter Thorne

🌍 First episode now live!

With the inspirational @peterthorne.bsky.social

🎧 Climate Change: Off the Record — with @roisinmoriarty.com and myself.
@maynoothuniversity.ie
@ucc.ie @universityofgalway.bsky.social

#ipcc #icca

open.spotify.com/episode/4PWP...

Thanks Conor

Thanks Bill.

Thanks Billy!

Councillors challenge Mayor on Patrickswell purchase MAYOR John Moran received strong criticism this week over a proposed multi-million euro commitment, from his discretionary mayoral fund...

Some councillors are giving Mayor Moran a hard time over the purchase of the land. I shouldn't need to point out that the Mayor used his own discretionary funds to purchase it. It isn't really anything to do with them. Having said that, the zoning of it will be.

www.limerickpost.ie/2025/09/24/c...

Just 27 parking spots planned for 285-home development in Limerick Concern raised at affordable housing development at Limerick's docklands

Some people want more cars and fewer homes in Limerick City. It beggars belief.

www.limerickleader.ie/news/plannin...

Here's a few more.

Good progress being made outside Thomond Park on the TUS to city centre active travel scheme.

Prime Limerick land sold for €6m, bought back for €450k and now goes sale agreed at €4m Prime parcel of land in Patrickswell has been sold for millions by the same owners twice

A week since I posted this and the Limerick Leader has more information about the land and the plans for it.

www.limerickleader.ie/news/farming...

Limerick folks, can you identify the building marked with the number 27? The map dates to 1786.

Was delighted to meet the one and only @thinkorswim.bsky.social at O'Mahony's Bookshop in Limerick last night. John was there to talk about his new book "The Lie of the Land". I've only just started into it but going by the great discussion last night I think it will be very worth reading.

Here's a video I took yesterday of the site. Patrickswell could be a very, very different place in just a few years time.

Works on Limerick-Foynes rail line take step forward as Iarnród Éireann hint at passenger travel down the line Final positioning works on the track have begun, Iarnród Éireann confirmed, ensuring the new tracks are positioned for freight services.

Unfortunately, there is still no commitment to passenger services on the new railway. Limerick's seven TDs seem oblivious to the potential and are barely saying anything about it. If they're not fighting for this then it sure as hell won't happen.

www.limerickpost.ie/2024/11/01/w...

All of this means that the LAP might not be worth the paper it's written on. The Office of the Planning Regulator might have something to say about this. Then again, the LAP really didn't properly consider the development potential for the village given a new railway is being built right to it.

Up to 1,500 new homes set to turn Limerick village into thriving ‘town’ Limerick City and County Council has begun the process of purchasing a 70-acre site in Patrickswell to deliver a major new housing-led expansion of the village.

An update to the plan, published in the @independent.ie today, suggests the agricultural land acquired by Mayor Moran and the Council could support the development of 1500 new homes.

www.independent.ie/regionals/li...

Developer left unable to build land in Limerick village Croom man wants to construct up to 60 homes in Patrickswell

The private developer mentioned in this article might be a bit pissed off. His development, in another area of Patrickswell, was refused by the Council because the LAP had his site zoned as agricultural (even though it was previously zoned for development).

www.limerickleader.ie/news/propert...

The Mayor / Council is paying €57,000 per acre for agricultural land. This is about four times the normal cost of agricultural land. While it is clearly intended to develop the site, that would turn the recently adopted Local Area Plan on its head, and elected councillors will have to agree to it.

BREAKING: Multi-million euro Limerick farm of land purchased for council Park and ride facility for Ryder Cup 2027 in Adare Manor is one of the proposals for the site

This purchase of a large site by Limerick Council, seemingly on the initiative of Mayor John Moran is quite interesting. Here's a thread ..

www.limerickleader.ie/news/propert...

What street in Limerick is this?

Exempt EV charging arms from planning rules - Fine Gael TD TD James Geoghegan said many of his constituents worry about how they would charge an EV, given the low number of public charging points.

I don't see a compelling argument here. The good folks of Ranelagh and Rathmines are doing such low mileage that switching to EVs won't make any dent on carbon emissions.

www.newstalk.com/news/exempt-...

Ennis To Dublin Bus Service Operator Acquired By Galway Company - Clare FM Ennis To Dublin Bus Service Operator Acquired By Galway Company - News % Clare FM

This is pretty big news for public transport in the Midwest. When Dublin Coach first came on the scene they revolutionised bus travel between Kerry, Clare, Limerick and Dublin. But the service deteriorated dramatically in recent years. Hopefully it'll improve again now.

www.clare.fm/news/ennis-t...

There seems to be a few gaps alright. Must head up with drawings and have a look. Feel free to join me!

Funnily enough, I was only having a look at it tonight too. I have the same concerns but there is some indication that the one-way streets will allow cyclists go two ways on them. It's not particularly clear though.

EV charging and EV parking are issues that towns and cities will have to grapple with but reinforcing the norms of the past, which crept in over years and which gives us many headaches, isn't very clever. Let's take the opportunity to rethink how we manage cars in our public spaces.

It would leave us with many of the problems in urban areas that we currently have when we have an opportunity to fix those problems, and move away from traffic congestion, car dominance and all the economic, health, social and environmental issues that go along with it.

The higher priority is walking, cycling and public transport. We should not make the mistake that everybody who has a fossil fuelled car should buy an EV and be supported to do so. That approach isn't government policy, and rightly so.

If you're living in middle class areas of Dublin you've the best public transport in Ireland and now you want the Council to give you space outside your door for your EV too!? EVs are part of the solution to transport emissions but only the last resort solution.

These chargers have the effect of privatisation of valuable public space, and they lock in car dominance when we're trying to get away from it. They make it much harder to build footpaths, bike lanes and bus lanes.

Jennifer O'Connell: Objecting to ‘the look’ of EV charging arms is like complaining about the upholstery on the Titanic Ireland, I have often thought smugly since my return from California, wouldn’t tolerate such pretentious, self-destructive nonsense as a ban on clothes lines. Enter the row over EV charging arms

This opinion piece in yesterday's Irish Times could be better, to say the least. There are arguments against these kinds of EV chargers that have nothing to do with aesthetics even if that might be where many objectors are coming from.

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...