Moore hall and the bats

voz es

It is a building with a of real historical importance in the history of Mayo, Connaught and Ireland. Why is there an order on it to protect bats in it...

Protecting Bats over one of the most beautiful and interesting pieces of architecture we have in the county, not to mention added edge in the advertisement of Mayo's tourism. A horse that won the grand national came from here as well.

I understand the importance of keeping alive rare species but surely not at the expense of something of such cultural importance and surely a structure could be build like that in the forest to accommodate the bat. then at least there is the potential for this and other important historical structures like it to be saved.

But I might be totally out of touch with this so I will add a poll.

Bats versus buildings of historical, cultural and architectural importance.

oscarBravo

The building can still be preserved; the order ensures that it has to be done in a way that doesn't harm the bats. Ballinafad College is a good example of this.

I'm seeing a lot of this type of argument lately: that conservation should only be done as long as it doesn't inconvenience people. It seems to me that such an argument manages to rather spectacularly miss the point of conservation.

endacl

Poll needs a third option. Both.

Eminently doable.

Dudda

It doesn't really affect the conservation works to the building. If you are doing works you try and do the works during the summer when you won't have bats hibernating in the cracks in the walls and roof. If works do continue into the winter or even start in winter you just have to be more careful demolishing and removing stones one by one. If you find a bat you follow specific steps of how to deal with it and ensure it is safe.

Now what can really cause you trouble is if you have bats and swift birds. The birds which are in decline in Ireland arrive from Africa in the first two weeks of May and are here until late August. They use the same nest every year so if you disturb their nest they won't lay eggs for 2-3 years while they find and build a new nest. We had a renovation project where we had bats and swift birds and the works to the roof had to be done between March and May to avoid both. Even having the roof works finished by May wasn't enough as scaffolding to the external walls and site hoarding had to be relocated which obstructed the flight path of the birds. I kid you not! Crazy the works and costs involved to protect a few birds and bats but it is possible.

voz es

I must admit once I heard about the bats I though it was dead in the water. great to hear there are ways around it. Mind I wonder it it would be at a massively higher cost.

Leocolceathrar

Has me stumped.