Louth councillor says Friends of Ardee Bog 'no friends of Ardee'

Cllr Dolores Minogue hit out at Friends of Ardee Bog, the community led group dedicated to conserving, restoring and promoting Ardee Bog which has taken legal action against plans to construct the new Ardee Bypass through Ardee Bog, and has called on Louth County Council to look into building a temporary road to relieve traffic congestion in Ardee town in the meantime.

Louth County Council was informed in January that an application to the Supreme Court was lodged for Leave to Appeal in respect to the High Court decision delivered in 2024 that refused Friends of Ardee Bog's application for a Judicial Review regarding the decision of An Bord Pleanála (EIA and AA Screening decisions) and the N52 Ardee Bypass.

Cllr Minogue raised the matter at the Louth County Council February meeting, highlighting the current road conditions in and around Ardee, saying that they "are in a deplorable state", due to the "heavy traffic coming into the town constantly, or trying to avoid the town. These small roads haven't been built for the traffic that's on the roads", adding that she wasn't "blaming the council but we still have to maintain these roads".

The Fine Gael councillor said "in my opinion, the Friends of Ardee Bog are no friends of Ardee Town" adding that they are "no friends" of Ardee traders, the residents of Ardee town, the Fire Brigade, or the health service.

"We cannot get up and down the town of Ardee, it is absolutely choc a bloc", she continued, and put forward an alternative route for a temporary road to be built, where the new Ardee Educate Together school is being built, saying, "we should build a temporary road right out to St Joseph's gates, and that would relieve an awful lot of traffic on the Kells Road."

Highlighting the traffic chaos in Ardee she said that "if you're trying to go out the Kells Road to turn north down the town, you're stopping the traffic going south. There's a constant tailback.

"I think its seriously something we have to look at", she continued, adding "either way, if we get the bypass tomorrow, we won't have it built in three years".

Stressing with the Council officials at the meeting that "our town is at a standstill, our town is not moving and our trade is going to go", Cllr Minogue called on for action to be taken, adding "I love Ardee, I was born and reared in it, I raised my family in it, a fantastic town and it's deteriorating, and as a councillor, I am getting paid good money to sit at these meetings to be a councillor, and the people of Ardee feel we're not doing anything."