Plans for mast at Laois GAA Club to improve internet and mobile coverage

Planning permission has been sought for a 27-metre-high telecommunications structure at a Laois GAA Club to improve internet connection in the area.

APW UK WIP Limited, trading as Icon Tower, submitted a planning application to Laois County Council for the monopole telecommunications support structure at Crettyard GAA Club.

Icon Tower is an independent wireless infrastructure provider within the Radius Global Infrastructure group. It develops, owns and operates telecommunications infrastructure, including freestanding structures, rooftop installations, street works and in-building systems.

The planning application includes the erection of a 27-metre-high telecommunications monopole carrying antennae, transmission dishes, remote radio units and associated telecommunications equipment.

The monopole will be located within a secure fenced compound within the grounds of Crettyard GAA Club and will be served by an extension of the existing access track.

The proposed installation is necessary to address issues with mobile coverage in Crettyard, Newtown, and the surrounding rural area, including along the N78 and the R340, where Icon Tower say existing services are “poor and inconsistent.”

The infrastructure will be designed to support multiple internet providers, including Vodafone, Eir and Three Ireland.

It is hoped that this development will greatly improve 4G and 5G voice and data services in the area.

The applicant argues that the location of the proposed structure in Crettyard is well placed to serve local residential areas, schools, community facilities, businesses and road users.

The 27-metre monopole is the minimum technically feasible height required to get sufficient clearance above trees and other obstructions.

Icon Tower noted that lower-height solutions were assessed and found “incapable of establishing the robust serving cell needed to provide consistent outdoor, indoor and in-vehicle coverage and effective overlap with the surrounding network.”

Earlier this year, Laois County Council granted planning permission for a similar development by Icon Tower in Mountrath.

Icon Tower had submitted a planning application for a 30-metre-high lattice telecommunications tower at Trumera GAA Club in Mountrath in order to provide high speed wireless data and broadband services for Vodafone Ireland.

Laois County Council are due to make their decision on this application for Crettyard by November 9, 2026.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme