#No. 4 Ten Years On: Reflections from the Heart of the Sperrins

About this episode: This solo podcast marks a major milestone: ten years since a group of ordinary people in the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland  said no to a proposed goldmine — and yes to something much more powerful: community, care, and commitment to place.

In this heartfelt reflection, Marella Fyffe , a  member of Save Our Sperrins team , traces the arc of the campaign. This isn’t just a recap — it’s a living memory of what resistance looks like from the inside. It honours both the highlights and the heartbreaks:

🔆 Highlights include:

• Early public meetings and the forming of SOS

• Major protests in Dungannon, Omagh, and Greencastle

• Legal wins, including the 2018 judicial review

• International support from the UN and NI Human Rights Commission

• Creative resistance: music, art, school projects, storytelling

• The Salmon Songs concert and intergenerational action

🌑 And it doesn’t shy away from the lows:

• Bureaucratic obstruction and planning fatigue

• The emotional toll of organising, burnout, and surveillance

• The collapse of the 2025 Public Inquiry

• Feeling unheard, misrepresented, and dismissed

Whether you’ve been walking this road with us from the start, or you’re new to the story, this episode is an invitation to listen — and to remember that gold isn’t always what glitters.

📣 Share, review, and help amplify our story

SOCIAL MEDIA

 

https://www.dontmineus.com

 

https://www.facebook.com/SaveOurSperrins

 

https://www.instagram.com/save_our_sperrins/

 

https://www.linkedin.com/company/save-our-sperrins

 

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-our-sperrins-108907

 

https://www.youtube.com/@SaveOurSperrins 

 

https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-n32q3-1939c83

 

LINKS TO OTHER RESOURCES 

 

http://caimnetwork.org/mining-in-ireland/

 

Mining in Ireland is a contentious issue, with 19% of the Republic of Ireland and 27% of Northern Ireland’s land area issued in prospecting licences. While mining companies claim to bring jobs and development, communities like those near Tara Mines and Gypsum Ltd have faced significant environmental and social impacts. Communities Against the Injustice of Mining (CAIM) is an all-island network resisting prospecting and extraction.

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/after-the-goldrush-by-gerry-mcgovern/id1681123169

 

Do Irish people know that Ireland has been selected as a Green sacrifice song for the so-called green technology, renewable energy transition from the beautiful wilds of Clare, Wicklow and Leitrim to the outstanding natural beauty of the Sperrin mountains of Tyrone. Rural Ireland is on Big Mining's chopping block.

This podcast is about the power of community, about how communities of Ireland are organising to stop this disaster happening. For short term returns, the government wants to sell Ireland  to mining interests as silently and quietly as possible. Let's make some noises. We will try to unravel why the Irish government is doing this

 

GOOGLE LINK TO Greencastle People’s Office -

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Cz7FHdUoi5ByxECz7?g_st=ipc

Music & editing by: Marella Fyffe  More episodes & interviews: [Add link to series or playlist if available]