A chara, – It is with some sadness and much regret that I have observed once again the closing of gates at Lissadell House and grounds. This most famous of historical houses that gave us Eva and Constance Gore-Booth is indeed set amid beautiful lands.
I and many others have had the pleasure of walking through this estate for years. We have done so with respect and dignity. This evening I drove down to my usual spot, parked my car outside the boundaries of Lissadell, let my dog bound excitedly from the boot, only to be stopped in our tracks by a closed gate.
In years to come, the people of Sligo and elsewhere will look back to November 11th, 2013 and ask how could our legal system and the State fail to preserve the rights of the people to bask in “the light of evening, Lissadell”? To the victor the spoils, but what a hollow victory for the owners of Lissadell. – Yours, etc,
JACQUELINE O’ TOOLE,
Ballinfull, Co Sligo.