Former Limerick hurling boss: 'I've been pro-job my entire life'

TO A GENERATION of people in Limerick, Tom Ryan is the man who led the senior hurlers to contest two All-Ireland finals in the 1990s - 1994 and 1996.

But for the last few years, the dairy farmer, based in Mungret, has ploughed what he says has been quite a lonely furrow, often being a sole voice raising environmental concerns at the expansion of Raheen Industrial Estate.

When we meet in the South Court Hotel, several people interject during our interview to say hello to the man, who hails from the parish of Ballybrown.

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“I’m world famous alright,” he jokes. “For the wrong reasons.”

Mr Ryan, who was also a member of Limerick’s 1973 All-Ireland hurling panel, is often listed as a sole objector on planning applications by firms based in the business park.

And earlier this year, he was even in the High Court, challenging an expansion bid by US chipmaker Analog Devices.

Although he ultimately lost that battle, Mr Ryan, who is now in his early 80s, has vowed to continue to raise concerns, declaring: “I am a fighter”.

“I would say it has cost me €200,000 in the cost factor alone. There's more to come in, so we could be talking about a quarter of a million,” Mr Ryan says, regarding what he has spent in challenging the various expansions near his farmland.

He has been in dispute with the council about what he describes as “pollution and severe flooding” emanating from Raheen Industrial Estate.

Mr Ryan has said that when the business park was founded, the local authority created a canal on Loughmore Common to take surplus water from the industrial estate.

He claims this is “contaminating” his land and doing harm to his livestock.

He has also engaged the services of environmental experts who have provided reports to back up his claims.

For its part, council has previously provided information on the testing regime it has carried out in the canal, pointing out these have not recorded any exceedances of ammonia or hydrocarbons.

Mr Ryan, a left-wing back on the hurling field in his time, has long compared content from the Loughmore Canal entering his land to “the Mississippi flowing into the Loobagh in Kilmallock.”

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“Animal welfare is a huge issue for me, so is wildlife. It feels like the natural habitat is being destroyed,” he said.

Mr Ryan listed a number of animals he says he has found dead on his land.

“I had all kinds of wildlife nesting, breeding, on the river. All gone. Nothing,” he sighs.

In the past, Mr Ryan has faced accusations of being anti-job, especially given the expansion of factories in the industrial estate have often paved the way for new positions in Limerick at an estate where thousands work.

It’s something he firmly denies, pointing to the employment he provided when managing an electrical engineering firm at Thomas Street in the city centre.

“I’m not anti-job, I want more jobs. I’m pro-job all my life. I’ve employed people: hundreds of men. Skilled, unskilled, semi-skilled, across a range of engineering and electrical,” he stated.

Even now, Mr Ryan adds, he employs three people at his dairy farm, which spans 300 acres.

He believes the State has a “fear” of multi-national firms.

“Nobody wants to say a word. One word. Once the jobs are created, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter about the outflow. And that’s the kernel here,” he says.

Mr Ryan has used similar environmental grounds to oppose plans for 63 houses and a creche in Patrickswell, on land which adjoins his farm.

Separately, he has appealed against a decision to allow a nursing home in the village.

While the nursing home was ultimately granted permission earlier this year, An Coimisiún Pleanála, formerly An Bord Pleanála is due to rule on the housing plan in November.

Given the housing crisis, his objection to new accommodation has sparked anger in some quarters.

How does he respond to this?

“Nobody is more concerned than me about housing. I come from a very humble background. I was born in 1944. I’ve seen housing and homeless all my life. I’ve been ostracised by what I do. Nobody wants to ring me or talk to me. They see me as a troublemaker - someone who objects to everything.

“I’ve had threatening phone calls. In actual fact, I was threatened as well quite recently. But nobody ever asked me why do I do this? There are thousands employed in the Raheen Industrial Estate. Not one individual, not one manager, not one company, not a single union, or any representative came into my yard and asked me what the problem is. They haven’t engaged with me, and that’s the truth of it,” said Mr Ryan.

He believes planners and agencies have taken the approach to try and “wear me out”.

There are dozens of references to Mr Ryan as an objector on the website of An Coimisiún Pleanála.

But in late 2022, he took what was an unusual step for him to withdraw an appeal he had lodged with the national planning appeals body, in a move which cleared the way for biopharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly to construct a manufacturing campus in Raheen.

“They actually supplied their own system for waste water control. They submitted a very thorough plan for the area for their surplus water treatment. They provided their own lake,” he said.

In recent weeks, Mr Ryan has taken his dispute with the council to another level - blocking content from the Loughmore Canal from entering his land.

The move has prompted solicitors for Limerick City and County Council to give notice to apply to the High Court for a restraining order to get him to stop the action, which the farmer has described as “a peaceful protest”.

A council spokesperson said: “The landowner has been made aware that the obstruction of these watercourses has legal implications. These blockages may significantly increase the risk of flooding to neighbouring lands and properties located upstream. Council is committed to exercising its statutory powers to ensure that any interference with watercourses does not negatively impact other landowners or properties.”

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When Mr Ryan is asked if he sees himself as a “serial objector” as some have deemed him, he replies: “No, I’m not a serial objector. The only objection I have is anything that is contributing to the flooding of my lands.

“This is my livelihood, my livestock and my produce.

“My whole livelihood, my values are now being questioned,” he concluded.