US tech giant Apple announced today it had shelved plans to build an 850-million-euro (USD 1.0-billion) data centre in Ireland over a court battle with conservationists seeking to preserve a forest.
"Several years ago we applied to build a data centre at Athenry. Despite our best efforts, delays in the approval process have forced us to make other plans and we will not be able to move forward with the data centre," the company said in a statement.
"While disappointing, this setback will not dampen our enthusiasm for future projects in Ireland as our business continues to grow."
Paul Keane, founder of Facebook group "Athenry for Apple", which comprises 6,000 members, called the decision "an absolute hammer blow to the locality and to rural Ireland."
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