Patrick Concannon (1918 – 26 February 2012) was an Irish local politician. He was born near Castlerea, County Roscommon in 1918.[1] Towards the end of his life he served as president of the Irish Turf Cutters and Contractors Association.
He served as a county councillor for County Roscommon for a total of 46 years starting in 1945. When first elected he was a member of the agrarian party Clann na Talmhan,[2] which was wound up in the 1960s. He was an unsuccessful Clann na Talmhan candidate at the 1957 general election for the Roscommon constituency.[2] He was later elected as a member of Fine Gael and as an independent.
Turf Cutters and Contractors Associationedit
Concannon was a founder member of the Turf Cutters Association in 1998. This followed the emergence of a threat to turf-cutting when the European Union's Habitats Directive was transposed into Irish law in 1997, and gave protection to raised bogs. The Irish government declared a ten-year derogation, which delayed the full protection of Irish raised bogs. (The derogation was granted to help domestic turf-cutters (as opposed to industrial-scale turf-cutting).[3] When the derogation expired, it was reported that a ban on turf-cutting would apply to more than thirty Special Areas of Conservation with effect from 2009. (Initial reports referred to 32 SACS being affected,[3][4] later reports refer to a figure of thirty-one).[5]
In a mirror of the derogation granted for continued domestic cutting on SAC raised bogs, a similar de facto 10 year derogation operated in respect of the 75 raised bogs designated for protection in 2004 under the Wildlife Acts. The ban would eventually apply to a total of 139 raised bogs which have been designated for protection in 53 Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) under the Habitats Directive and 75 Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs) under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000.
In 2008, the Turf Cutters Association amalgamated with the Contractors Association to form the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association of which Concannon was president. Concannon led opposition to the ban on non-commercial turf cutting of raised bogs.[6] Concannon stated that he would do everything he could to overturn the ban. "We will help and assist everyone who wishes to cut turf on the bogs affected," he said. "I have been cutting turf for more than 80 years and I have a great respect for the land. I'm prepared to go to prison if it comes to that."[citation needed]
paddy, concannon, patrick, concannon, 1918, february, 2012, irish, local, politician, born, near, castlerea, county, roscommon, 1918, towards, life, served, president, irish, turf, cutters, contractors, association, contents, political, career, turf, cutters, . Patrick Concannon 1918 26 February 2012 was an Irish local politician He was born near Castlerea County Roscommon in 1918 1 Towards the end of his life he served as president of the Irish Turf Cutters and Contractors Association Contents 1 Political career 2 Turf Cutters and Contractors Association 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksPolitical career editHe served as a county councillor for County Roscommon for a total of 46 years starting in 1945 When first elected he was a member of the agrarian party Clann na Talmhan 2 which was wound up in the 1960s He was an unsuccessful Clann na Talmhan candidate at the 1957 general election for the Roscommon constituency 2 He was later elected as a member of Fine Gael and as an independent Turf Cutters and Contractors Association editConcannon was a founder member of the Turf Cutters Association in 1998 This followed the emergence of a threat to turf cutting when the European Union s Habitats Directive was transposed into Irish law in 1997 and gave protection to raised bogs The Irish government declared a ten year derogation which delayed the full protection of Irish raised bogs The derogation was granted to help domestic turf cutters as opposed to industrial scale turf cutting 3 When the derogation expired it was reported that a ban on turf cutting would apply to more than thirty Special Areas of Conservation with effect from 2009 Initial reports referred to 32 SACS being affected 3 4 later reports refer to a figure of thirty one 5 In a mirror of the derogation granted for continued domestic cutting on SAC raised bogs a similar de facto 10 year derogation operated in respect of the 75 raised bogs designated for protection in 2004 under the Wildlife Acts The ban would eventually apply to a total of 139 raised bogs which have been designated for protection in 53 Raised Bog Special Areas of Conservation SACs under the Habitats Directive and 75 Natural Heritage Areas NHAs under the Wildlife Amendment Act 2000 In 2008 the Turf Cutters Association amalgamated with the Contractors Association to form the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association of which Concannon was president Concannon led opposition to the ban on non commercial turf cutting of raised bogs 6 Concannon stated that he would do everything he could to overturn the ban We will help and assist everyone who wishes to cut turf on the bogs affected he said I have been cutting turf for more than 80 years and I have a great respect for the land I m prepared to go to prison if it comes to that citation needed See also editIrish Peatland Conservation CouncilReferences edit County mourns death of Paddy Concannon permanent dead link Roscommon Herald a b Patrick Concannon ElectionsIreland org Retrieved 8 July 2013 a b 2008 Turf cutters fear EU ban will be extended Irish Examiner 2009 Turf cutting permanent dead link Roscommon Herald The difference is explained by a delay in respect of the bog at Lough Ree SAC 1 Archived 2011 07 09 at the Wayback Machine Galway Turf Cutters To Work With Minister Over Restricted Bogs Galway Bay Fm galwaynews ie 11 October 2012 Archived from the original on 6 August 2012 Retrieved 16 October 2012 External links edithttp uk news yahoo com 21 20100528 tuk turf gatherers vow to fight ban e1cd776 html permanent dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Paddy Concannon amp oldid 1167529473, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
