Wind farms are becoming increasingly popular in Ireland in an effort to increase the production of green energy within the state. As with any infrastructural development: wind farms must consider potential environmental impacts prior to construction. One particular issue that must be examined is the emission of noise from the development. In Ireland wind farm developments must adhere to planning conditions that usually outline permissible noise levels for both the construction and operational phases of the development. The critical wind speed is often cited as the wind speed at which these limits apply. This paper examines how the critical wind speed is determined and investigates its relationship with background noise levels and turbine choice. The study consisted of ten one-week monitoring periods during which meteorological conditions and background noise levels were simultaneously recorded. It was found that the critical wind speed is non-transferable, i.e. it depends on both the turbine choice and background noise environment and is specific to that particular turbine/site combination. Furthermore the critical wind speed during the night-time is often different to the overall critical wind speed suggesting that future noise studies should consider a range of critical wind speeds, particularly for night-time noise assessments. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.