Last week, a new legal challenge arose for Apple's massive data center in Galway County, Ireland at the hands of three individuals in the nearby town of Athenry, who filed official complaints against the data center with the Galway County Council, local planning body An Bord Pleanála, and even the High Court. Today, the Irish High Court has ruled in Apple's favor and pledged to fast-track building approval of the data center following months of roadblocks and red tape (via Business Insider).

Specifically, the court has decided to put the dispute between Apple and the three individuals on the "commercial list," a dedicated section of the court which deals with cases that have more than €1 million at stake. Because of this, the case "must be concluded within six months," and Apple will be able to eventually begin construction of the data center, which is intended to power services like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud.

athenry-march

Locals march in support of Apple's data center

Local politician Ciaran Cannon wrote on the Athenry for Apple Facebook group: "Very good news from the High Court just now. The Fitzpatrick/Daly proceedings have been admitted to the Commercial Court list. This means that the hearing must be concluded within 6 months, rather than the 18 months for a normal Judicial Review case. Their case will now be be heard on the 21st of March. The application to admit the third objector, McDonagh, to the same list will be heard next Monday."

Today's decision followed a local march in Athenry yesterday organized by citizens in the town and its surrounding villages -- with more than 2,000 in attendance -- to show Apple that only a vocal minority was against the data center, and that most people are fervently in support of the Cupertino company's presence nearby. The citizens in support of Apple believe its data center will introduce new jobs to the area and boost the local economy.

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
105 months ago
Marching for iCloud. Never thought we'd see the day.
I wonder what their slogan would be.

"We're here! 5 gig tier! And we'd like to say hello! (again)"
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
105 months ago
Marching for iCloud. Never thought we'd see the day.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

mac mini thermal architecture feature

New Mac Mini Has Modular Storage, 256GB Model Will Have Faster SSD

Friday November 8, 2024 7:06 am PST by
Apple has returned to using two 128GB storage chips in the new Mac mini with 256GB of storage, according to a partial teardown video shared on social media today. This means the base-model Mac mini with the M4 chip will not have significantly slower SSD speeds compared to higher-end configurations of the computer with 512GB, 1TB, or 2TB of storage, as multiple NAND chips allows for faster SSD...
best buy holiday

Best Buy Reveals Black Friday Plans With Sitewide Sales Available Now

Friday November 8, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Black Friday sales are continuing today with Best Buy kicking off early Black Friday deals that will last for the next few days. Similar to other retailers, Best Buy's early Black Friday event includes sitewide savings on Apple products, headphones, TVs, monitors, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 2

Monday November 4, 2024 12:34 pm PST by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 updates to developers, and Apple is continuing to refine the Apple Intelligence capabilities. There are also a handful of smaller features that are worth knowing about. Find My Find My has a new option to Share Item Location with an "airline or trusted person" that can help you locate something that you've misplaced....
iphone passcode green

Cops Suspect iOS 18 iPhones Are Communicating to Force Reboots, Making Unlocking Harder

Thursday November 7, 2024 2:20 pm PST by
Law enforcement officials in Detroit, Michigan are warning other police officers about an alleged iPhone change that causes Apple devices stored for forensic examination to spontaneously restart, reports 404 Media. iPhones that are undergoing examination have apparently been rebooting, which makes them harder to unlock with brute force methods, and Michigan police think that it's due to a...
early apple watch black friday

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Watch Deals

Wednesday November 6, 2024 6:33 am PST by
Black Friday is just around the corner, and Apple Watch deals have begun appearing ahead of the shopping holiday on November 29. In this article, we'll take a look at all of the best early Black Friday Apple Watch deals, including the new Series 10 models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small...
iCloud General Feature

Here's What's New in Apple's Updated iCloud Terms and Conditions Taking Effect Next Week

Friday September 13, 2024 7:39 am PDT by
Apple has started notifying users about an upcoming revision to its iCloud Terms and Conditions, which takes effect on Monday, September 16. We compared the text of the upcoming iCloud Terms and Conditions with the current U.S. version from September 18, 2023 and identified four key changes: "Apple ID" references have been changed to "Apple Account" throughout. iCloud users must agree to ...
M4 MacBook Pros Thumb

M4 MacBook Pro Reviews: Processor Benchmarks Impress, New Nano-Texture Option Worth the Extra $150

Thursday November 7, 2024 6:14 am PST by
The first wave of reviews of Apple's new M4-powered MacBook Pro models were published this morning. We've collected some of the latest impressions from YouTube channels and select media outlets below. Apple last month announced the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, adding next-generation M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips, with Thunderbolt 5 ports on higher-end models, display and camera ...