Fermoy locals ‘despair’ that weir will ever be repaired

Members of a Cork rowing club are “despairing” that repairs to a damaged weir in Fermoy will ever be carried out.

In February, An Bord Pleanála granted consent for remedial works on the weir — a listed, protected structure — and the building of a separate channel, a so-called fish bypass, to run parallel to the River Blackwater’s northern bank, west of the town’s Kent Bridge.

However, Cork County Council — which owns the weir — has said its attempts to secure funding are “at the very early stage”.

‘The weir saga’, as it is known in Fermoy, has been running since 2006, when migrating salmon became trapped at the weir’s damaged fish ladder and officials demanded the removal of the weir.

Fermoy has had a weir for more than 800 years, and the present structure was built 250 years ago by the founder of the modern town, Scottish entrepreneur John Anderson, to power his mill.

The river west of the bridge serves as the rowing club’s training grounds, which extend — when water levels allow — as far as Castlehyde House, the historical family home of Ireland’s first president Dubhghlas de hÍde, and occasional residence of dancer Michael Flatley.

In 2007, the Government claimed that the EU was demanding that the weir in Fermoy be replaced by a lower structure, something the rowing club said would destroy its training grounds.

In 2009, members of the club travelled to Brussels and met with EU officials, who told them a simple repair of the weir would suffice.

The Government then said that it could not commit State funding, as its fisheries advisors said that a repair would not be the optimal solution.

A stalemate persisted for a decade, and a 2019 breach caused an entire section of the weir — situated east of the bridge — to wash away, with water levels upstream collapsing.

Cork County Council said the tender for the site investigation contract to inform the design was issued last week.

A council spokesperson said it was investigating funding possibilities for the project, but was “at the very early stage of this process”.

“Potential avenues of funding would include conservation grants, IFI programmes, and other sources.”

The council did not respond when asked for a timeline for the completion of the works.

Fermoy Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O’Flynn said the works were to commence “in due course”, but declined to commit to a timeline.

Asked if the works would be completed by 2030, Mr O’Flynn replied: “I don’t know. All these things take time.” He added that he was “not being evasive”.

The regatta secretary for Fermoy Rowing Club, Paul Kavanagh, said members were “despairing” that the weir would ever be repaired, or that the club’s training grounds would ever be restored.

“This situation is going on now for nearly two decades, and we’re still no closer to a solution. Fermoy weir is a listed, protected structure, and Cork County Council has owned it since 2014 — when the local councils were abolished,” Mr Kavanagh said.

“We’re despairing, after delay after delay, after delay. We want concrete information. We want a timeline. We can see no end to this carry-on.”

A spokesperson for Inland Fisheries Ireland said a condition of planning consent was that the council liaise with Inland Fisheries Ireland to ensure the proposed works would not damage protected habitats.

Inland Fisheries Ireland said its national barrier-mitigation programme would prioritise removal or mitigation of barriers to fish migration, such as weirs.

“The intention is to develop a funding mechanism for a range of project types, which will be guided by a set of priority factors,” they said.