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Springfield House Mount Lucas Daingean Offaly

Springfield House, located near Daingean, County Offaly (formeraly Kings County at the time of construction) is a protected structure and an excellent example of the class of Georgian house described by Dr Maurice Craig in his book entitled, 'Classic Irish Houses of the Middle Size'. Springfield House is a mid eighteenth century seven bay two storied double pile house with pedimented centre of 3 bays on the South front, the wide front door being flanked by a pair of narrow windows in a typical 1760s composition. On the north elevation is a pair of arched openings, one of which lights the staircase, while the second has been cut back to merely a fanlight, but probably lit the service stair. The house was extensively modernised circa 1857 and all the joinery in the principal rooms date from this time, as do the chimneys and stone coping to gables. The western bays of the rear pile also appear to be an addition of this date. There is a cellar under the western part of the front pile which may originally have been a basement. The plan of the house comprises a central hall flanked by Drawing and Dining Rooms on the front, with above them the Upper Hall leading to the two principal bedrooms. To the rear is the Stair Hall, slightly off centre with a somewhat crude wreathed and ramped staircase with cut brackets and turned spindles. Flanking this there is a narrow bay which probably housed the service stair and in the corner, over the Kitchen, are two bedrooms (one very small) served by a short corridor, and in the 19th century addition, over what may have been a billiards room with a considerably higher ceiling, are again two bedrooms. There is a lean-to building outside the kitchen housing domestic offices. There are also extensive yards and outbuildings. The house has been largely untouched since the 1857 renovations. Last year Offaly County Council granted permission for urgent remedial works, namely complete restoration of the roof and restoration of the windows. www.springfieldhouse.ie

Mount Lucas estate Bridge

The Steep, Mount Lucas, Daingean, Offaly, Ireland.

In 1668 Benjamin Lucas was granted 311 acres at Lisdweene, barony of Moyarta, county Clare. Later that year Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Lucas, a Cromwellian officer, was granted lands in the baronies of Moyarta, Corcomroe and Inchiquin amounting to about 365 acres. He settled at Mount Lucas, King's County [county Offaly] and the representatives of John Lucas of Mount Lucas, Philipstown, King's County, still owned 685 acres in county Clare in the 1870s. In 1677 Benjamin Lucas was granted a further 398 acres in the barony of Moyarta and 330 acres in barony of Inchiquin. Thomas Lucas also held land at Lismuse, parish of Killard, barony of Ibrickan, at the end of the 17th century. By the 1760s a family of Lucas were living at Loughburke, parish of Kilmaley, barony of Islands. Mary Lucas of Loughburke married William Fennell of Limerick in 1765. Kilmaley Church of Ireland registers show that Joseph Lucas of Loughburke died in 1787 and Mrs Elizabeth Lucas of Loughburke in 1810. Benjamain Lucas of Loughburke was given a game license in 1811. The Lucas family were still resident at Loughburke in 1837. Griffith's Valuation records Benjamin H. Lucas holding land in the parish of Whitechurch, barony of Iffa and Offa West, county Tipperary in the mid 19th century. The chemist and politican Charles Lucas of Ballingaddy was born in county Clare circa 1713. At the time of Griffith's Valuation John Lucas held an estate in the parishes of Abington and Clonkeen, barony of Clanwilliam, county Limerick. In the 1870s Benjamin Lucas of Maddyboy owned 694 acres in the that county.

Mountlucas Wind Farm

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Permission granted for Mountlucas wind farm

Published Date: 16 December 2010

BORD na Móna has welcomed the decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning consent for the development of a wind farm at Mountlucas.

The proposed development, to be known as Mountlucas Wind Farm, will have a generating capacity of 80 MW.

When operational it will improve the geographical distribution of wind energy facilities nationally and hence contribute to more balanced inp

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ut of wind energy to the grid in support of the Government's 40% target for electricity from renewable energy sources.

This will help to ensure that, by 2020, 40% of electricity generated in the state will come from renewable sources.

A group of residents calling themselves the Concerned Residents of Drumcaw made an objection to an Bord Pleanala citing a number of reasons for their opposition to the proposal last August.

While Bord na Mona claim the wind farm would create 30 new jobs, the group believe there is no guarantee any of these will go to locals

The proposed development forms part of Bord na Móna's long term strategy of diversification beyond it's traditional peat-based businesses. As part of this diversification it is developing a portfolio of generating assets, including wind farms and complementary flexible thermal plant.

An application for connection of the wind farm to the national grid has been made to EirGrid. It is included in the Gate 3 list of projects to be processed for connection and it is scheduled to get an offer for connection to the system in early 2011.

Welcoming the planning approval, Gabriel D'Arcy, the Chief Executive commented:"We are delighted with the decision to grant planning consent for the new wind farm at Mountlucas. This is a major milestone on the road to bringing this project to fruition. We will now press on with work on the other strands of the project to bring it to construction stage and a successful conclusion."

It is expected that the construction of the new wind farm will take place over an 18 to 24 month period and will involve an investment of approximately €120m, with up to 30 workers employed on the project at peak.

Once in operation the farm will support a small number of operation and maintenance jobs. When operational, the farm will generate enough electricity to supply the needs of approximately 45,000 homes with green electricity and it will prevent the emission every year of 125,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Those areas of the site that are still in active peat production will not be affected by the development of the wind farm, and peat production will continue as normal.

Mountlucas Wind Farm

Residents object to €120m Mountlucas wind farm

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Credit: Offaly Express, www.offalyexpress.ie 13 August 2010

An objection has been lodged with an Bord Pleanala to a €120 million wind farm for Mountlucas.

A group of residents calling themselves the Concerned Residents of Drumcaw have objected citing a number of reasons for their opposition to the proposal.

While Bord na Mona claim the wind farm would create 30 new jobs, the group believe there is no guarantee any of these will go to locals.

“Bord na Mona said they would be tendering the works, so there is no guarantee any locals will be employed,” said spokesperson for the group Nicola Marsden.

She said while the group are not opposed to job creation or green energy, there are a number of issues they are not happy with.

“The proposal is for 32 wind turbines. At 156 metres they will be the largest in Ireland. We are concerned about how many there will be and how close they are to people’s houses,” said Ms Marsden.

When the idea was first mooted, a public meeting was held in Daingean by Bord na Mona. She said after the information was digested a group of locals sought a meeting with Bord na Mona themselves.

After putting their views together they met with John Lynch from Bord na Mona. They put their concerns to him.

“In terms of noise we were told everything would be within the guidelines, but I want to know how it will impact on my life. We felt if they could be located a bit further away it would be better,” she said.

Ms Marsden outlined that residents also have an issue that during the construction phase heavy lorries and machinery will be using what is essentially, a bog road, and they are questioning the impact it will have on that.

She said some research suggests that constant low humming, like that produced by wind turbines, can have an effect on health.

As well as this the group claim houses located close to the turbines may be affected by shadow flicker.

Also the group are worried what effect the wind turbines will have on house prices and say that Bord na Mona should provide evaluators for this purpose, as they have done this for other projects. Finally she said there is the visual aspect, as the turbines will be located within a kilometre of some houses.

She said while green energy is of benefit, the project is still a money making one for Bord na Mona and they should be sensitive to local needs.

“We don’t want this to impact negatively on our lives or our children’s lives,” said Ms Marsden.

A decision will be made by an Bord Pleanala on December 2.

The proposed development would have a generating capacity of 80 MW and will comprise of 32 wind turbines, access trackways, crane hard-standings, underground cables between the turbines and a 110 kV electricity substation.

It was expected that the construction of the new wind farm wiould take place over an 18 to 24 month period.