Achill Henge - will it be removed?

Tweet

The collage shows Achill Henge on Achill Island off the coast of Co. Mayo, Ireland. This is not mentioned on any of the tourist brochures and it is a very, VERY rough track to get to it. It was erected by Joe McNamara, a property developer, but without planning permission from the Mayo County Council. This has led to an ongoing feud as McNamara calls the structure an ‘ornamental garden’ and says he doesn’t need a planning permit. The cement blocks are 4 metres high and the circumference of the circle is 100 metres. There are 30 uprights and they have been sunk into a bog. I don’t know if the area will be tidied up at all but it’s pretty ‘ordinary’ at the moment. McNamara’s brother was kind enough to show us an easier way to get to the henge although he forgot to tell us we’d get our feet wet as we went. McNamara has been ordered to remove the edifice but he says if the Council wants it removed they’ll have to do it themselves. Somehow, I think it might be there for a good while yet. PS: A ‘henge’ is a prehistoric monument of wooden or stone uprights set in a circle. Achill Henge doesn’t exactly fit the ‘prehistoric’ criteria but hey! who’s worried about that?