While many people have stated that, until recently, they knew nothing of EirGrid's €500m Grid Link Project which would see the construction of a series of 45m and 60m high pylons connect substations from Knockraha in Cork to near Kilcullen in Co Kildare via south Wexford, the campaign of opposition has grown and hardened considerably in the past fortnight.

Public meetings have taken place and are being organised across the region on foot of leaflets and notices from community groups and concerned locals. One of the strongest groups to emerge is 'Bride and Blackwater Against Pylons' - an umbrella campaign group encompassing communities right along the Blackwater Valley. Several of the proposed route corridors run between Lismore, Dungarvan and Youghal.

On Monday, members officially opened their new information centre and campaign office on the Main Street in Lismore. They've 'wrapped' the outside of the premises in a giant mural showing what the local area would look like with the pylons in place, to demonstrate the visual impact they would have. They also have concerns about health, the landscape, tourism impact and land and property devaluation.

The Lismore premises was made available to the group who will man it with volunteers, explaining the project and its implications for the region to visitors, daily from 12-4 pm. They may extend those opening hours if there's a demand for it. Maps of the various routes and other information is available from the centre.

"There are still people who don't know about it," Ann-Marie Lineen of the protest group pointed out. She said EirGrid was more than welcome to also visit the centre and inform people about their plan. The group says EirGrid has admitted it didn't advertise the project in their area "thus depriving our community of having a say about something that will affect our homes, our livelihoods, the lives of our children and of generations of Waterford residents to come."

The group is urging people to act and make their voices heard by making a submission to EirGrid by the November 26th deadline.

The opening of the centre on Monday was attended by local politicians including Sinn Fein senator, David Cullinane and local councillors John Pratt, James Tobin, Michael J O'Ryan and town councillor Ken Madden. The group held two public information evenings recently and took part in a march in the Comeragh mountains at Mahon Falls on Saturday which garnered considerable media attention. RTE's Prime Time programme is following the activities of the group as well as the South Tipperary lobby group and filmed on the ground and from the air by helicopter on Saturday, showing the various proposed routes.

On Wednesday of this week, the Prime Time programme shot footage up and down the Blackwater for the programme. The Bride and Blackwater Against Pylons group rallied members to place banners along the river to demonstrate their opposition to the Grid Link plan. They've also set up a Facebook page to mobilise people to oppose EirGrid's plans.

The group want the 400kv line to be placed underground and say that it is accepted as a technically feasible alternative. They point out that Eirgrid recently installed the 256 km East-West interconnector from Meath to Wales using an underground and under sea cable. And they point out that the Danish government adopted a policy of undergrounding all new transmission lines.

Eirgrid's Grid Link project manager John Lowry, has argued that it will provide a platform for economic growth and job creation in the south and east, giving it a high-quality, secure supply of electricity best placed to attract inward investment that will bring employment and prosperity. Opposition groups believe however that there will be little economic benefit to the local area and that the infrastructure will provide electricity supply for export, rather than domestic use. "There'll be no benefit from this to us," a local protestor asserted.

Feedback from EirGrid's consultation process will be used to identify the corridor least constrained, i.e. the route with the least environmental, social, technical and other constraints.

A further public information evening is being held in Tallow on Tuesday next, November 19th at 8pm. Organised by Tallow Community Council, it'll be held in the community hall.

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