Mayo County Council could be on a collision course with commonage shareholders in Achill over the ownership of 440ac on the island.
A total of 557 landowners believed that they had a share in the commonage at Keel Sandybanks.
However, it emerged last week that Mayo County Council had purchased the land by way of a compulsory purchase order (CPO) in 1970 and the local authority is now in the process of finalising the acquisition 56 years later.
The move threatens the commonage rights for the shareholders and around 350 active farmers who graze the ground, according to Fianna Fáil county councillor Paul McNamara.
The ownership of the Keel Sandybanks, which were formerly part of the Achill Misson Estate, has been a matter of contention for over 20 years, Cllr McNamara said.
However, it now appears that Mayo County Council is seeking to take full control of the property.
Vesting order
“From the information I have recently uncovered, it appears that Mayo County Council owns a golf course, a campsite, a football pitch, a tennis court and approximately 400 acres of grazing land,” Cllr McNamara told a Mayo County Council meeting, which was reported by the Mayo News.
Cllr McNamara also told the meeting that he had been informed that a vesting order to finalise the land acquisition process will be issued in the coming weeks.
The councillor called for the long-standing grazing rights and farming interests of those using the lands to be “fully recognised and protected”.
This call was echoed by an Irish Natura Hill Farmers Association spokesperson.
Mayo County Council did not respond to queries from the Irish Farmers Journal.
