Putting a spanner in the planning works

Longford celebrity and ‘serial planning objector’ Liam Madden may revel in his colourful and humorous image, but there’s a serious intellect, an encyclopaedic knowledge of planning laws and a genuine interest behind the headline-grabbing shenanigans

Liam Madden. ‘Tinkering with [the Irish planning system] to accommodate vested interests would be ill-advised’ Picture: Shelley Corcoran

Liam Madden is a something of a celebrity in Longford. There’s a touch of notoriety too, though.

The fame comes from his sporting career. He was part of the great St Mel’s College GAA football team that made four colleges finals in the 1960s and won two of them; he was captain of the Longford senior football team; he was on the UCD panel when they won a club All-Ireland in the 1970s; ...