An Taisce has objected to a plan to build a wind farm on a Kerry mountain beside the highest pub in Ireland.
ESB subsidiary Hibernian Wind Power is proposing to build the wind farm on the Coom mountain near Kilgarvan. Its application is for 28, 70-metre wind turbines at Grousemount, making it Kerry's biggest wind farm.
In a submission on the development, An Taisce has asked if the company could guarantee that the development on boggy land would not lead to landslides.
Last week a consultant found that construction on Hibernian's €60 million wind farm at Derrybrien, Co Galway, caused a bogslide.
A decision was due this week on the Hibernian application for Kerry. However, the county council has written to the company seeking further information.
The proposal is one of many for the scenic and forested area. The development would be alongside one of the highest pub in Ireland, Top of the Coom, on the Coom mountain along the Kerry-Cork border.
The area is the only one in south Kerry designated as open to consideration for wind energy in the county development plan. An adjoining site has permission for 10 turbines.
An Taisce has objected to wind farms in the area mainly because of interference with the scenic character of the mountains. It also alleges the Hibernian proposal will require a bridge to be built, and would interfere with an important wild salmon and sea trout spawning ground.
"It is obvious a considerable amount of disturbance will have to take place in the vicinity," said Dr Catherine McMullin, An Taisce's honorary planning officer in Kerry.
A Taisce has also disagreed with the claim that the area is not a significant tourist area, and that the wind farm could be an attraction.
"It does not have the dramatic landscapes of parts of the Ring of Kerry or Ring of Dingle, but it hosts a very pleasant mix of mountain and low-lying farmland. As the 'honey-pot' tourist areas become more crowded, visitors will seek out the unspoilt areas such as the Coom."