*Scroll down to bottom of the page to read a response by a Kerry County Councillor*
Yep, you read that right.
GAA supporters are known for going to great lengths and for spending quite an amount of money to cheer on their county, but one Kerry family could be down €12million if they’re not careful.
According to The Kerryman, the Moloney family from Moyvane in Kerry face fines of up to €12million or two years in prison if they don’t remove a simple sign reading ‘Kerry for Sam’ erected on their land in recent weeks.
Kerry County Council say the sign needs to come down immediately as the Moloneys never sought planning permission for the sign, which is hardly what you’d call gigantic in any man’s language.
“It’s very upsetting for us, it’s only 26 inches by 18 inches on a pole that’s only five feet high,” Billy Moloney told The Kerryman.
“Our neighbours have no problem with it whatsoever, they are only delighted with it.”
Despite the threats from the Kerry County Council, the Moloneys have kept the sign up for now because none of the letters sent to them so far have included a legible signature from a council officer.
“You can’t make out the signature, and it only says staff officer in print underneath,” Moloney said.
“As far as we’re concerned they are hiding behind these letters and we’re very upset by the treatment.”
What will become of this remains to be seen, but God help whoever threatens something like this in Mayo!
UPDATE: Councillor Jimmy Moloney from Listowel got in touch with JOE to clarify some issues in relation to the story above.
Below is an excerpt from an e-mail that was sent to the journalist who originally published the story in The Kerryman and a retraction will be published in this week’s edition of the paper on Tuesday.
“Your article is factually incorrect and whilst it is not Council policy to comment in relation to individual files on breaches of planning legislation, it is important to clarify that no enforcement notice was issued by the Council for the signage referred to in your article.
“Kerry County Council recognizes the tradition of many families in erecting signage to support the Kerry team in their campaign for Sam, provided such signage does not interfere with the safety of road users.
“The Council is statutorily required to investigate all complaints of unauthorized development, including on occasion for the erection of unauthorized signage.
“Details of all complaints are maintained on a public register and the files in relation to any alleged unauthorized development are available for public inspection, subject to restrictions on publication / disclosure of some information, under the provisions of the Data Protection Acts.”
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