Donegal pilgrimage site to be connected in National Broadband Plan

Donegal County Council has granted planning permission for the installation of an electronic communications structure at St Patrick’s Purgatory near Pettigo, as part of the Government’s National Broadband Plan.

The permitted development is located at the purgatory’s mainland pier, at Ballymacavany, where visitors often get to Station Island, an ancient pilgrimage site in Lough Derg, known as St Patrick’s Purgatory.

St Patrick’s Purgatory is a place of Christian pilgrimage that has been active for over 1,500 years, with a traditional three-day pilgrimage taking place from June to mid-August. St Patrick’s Purgatory, as well as being a regular site for pilgrims, is a year-long destination for followers, retreats, educational tours and experiences. 

Submitted as part of a broader National Broadband Plan, to bring high-speed fibre broadband to areas within the country requiring state intervention, the National Broadband Plan is the largest telecommunications project ever undertaken by the Irish state.

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Its goal is to “radically transform Ireland’s broadband landscape by delivering quality, affordable, high-speed broadband to all parts of the country - particularly to islands and remote areas where such services are not available commercially.”

The permitted application is for an electronic communications structure, comprising an eight-metre-high timber pole supporting two radio-link dishes, together with a mini-cabinet, fibre chamber, foundation, a concrete plinth and all associated ancillary development works. 

Donegal County Council granted the application planning permission with six conditions, for the reasons of clarifying the nature of the development and catering for orderly development, in the interests of visual amenity, ensuring the satisfactory reinstatement of the site, and preventing flooding.