I wish to comment on KCC county development plan and proposal to list Lookout Posts in the County Development Plan.
I congratulate KCC on having the vision to recognise the value of these posts . It is suggested that KCC examine the remaining Lookout Posts in the county with a view to listing them in the County development plan and ensuring the structures are preserved.
A book written by Dr Michael Kennedy RIA on the origins of the Lookout Posts “ The Coastwatchers – guarding Irelands Second World War front line” illustrates the historical importance of the Lookout posts on Irelands coast.
To quote Dr Kennedy
“The LOPs are a unique and valuable part of Ireland's modern history. They are an important reminder of a period in the first decades of our independence when we stood alone, despite considerable odds, and faced into one of the most vicious war zones in the Second World War. Their history is of local, national and international importance and it carries a continued resonance to coastal communities around Ireland, in many cases through direct family links where descendants of the coastwatchers are still living in the same areas their wartime forebearers kept guard. Though small in size they are a tangible sign of Ireland's neutrality and the historical record contained in their logbooks about the Second World War about Ireland is exceptional. LOPs deserve to be preserved and rebranded as heritage sites along the Wild Atlantic Way telling tales of the war at sea and in the air of Ireland's coast almost 100 years ago.”
An on line visit to Irelands military archives “ https://www.militaryarchives.ie/collections/reading-room-collections/look-out-post-logbooks-september-1939-june-1945” will demonstrate the importance of these posts . The archives are a link to the individual posts and to the local people that manned the posts. The posts are worthy of preservation and conservation.