A recent application to build the country's first commercial incinerator at the foot of Benbulben has prompted the formation of a new environmental group in north Sligo.
A campaign by people living close to the proposed site at Drumfad resulted in the application for planning permission being withdrawn on the day the group had arranged its first public meeting earlier this month.
The proposal to build an incinerator and a general waste disposal facility in the heart of Yeats Country both shocked and outraged locals.
A spokeswoman for the North Sligo Environmental and Health Awareness Group, which was formed to oppose the plan, said that after the public meeting, attended by some 250 people, it was decided to elect a committee and to remain on guard against any future developments which would damage the environment.
The group will now concentrate on general conservation work and will start by cleaning up a number of very old wells in the area.
The spokeswoman said that in addition to its outstanding landscape and unique flora and fauna, there were also important archaeological sites in the vicinity.