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Dundalk Bay Events: What does your river mean to you?

Meetings are being held with communities along the rivers of the Dundalk Bay Catchment.

These free events will allow you to share stories, knowledge and ideas, and learn about how you can create a plan for the future of the rivers of Dundalk Bay.

This is your opportunity to meet individuals and groups who have an interest in the waters, wildlife and heritage on your doorstep.

From the uplands of Cooley, the Big and Flurry Rivers flow to Dundalk Bay; the Cullywater and Castletown flow from South Armagh through Dundalk town; the Fane valley skirts the border making its way through Castleblayney and Inniskeen to the coast at Blackrock. The Glyde rises in the Kingscourt area and meets the Proules from Carrickmacross before advancing to Tallanstown to join the Dee near Annagasson. Nobber streams flow into the Dee then through Ardee to the sea at Annagasson; the White River flows through Dunleer before joining the Dee.

Dundalk Bay is a Special Area of Conservation for Bird species and shellfish and as such is very sensitive to changes in water quality.

These rivers were the roadways of the Ancient East leaving us with an enviable heritage legacy from the Viking forts and the only castle in Ireland built by a woman, Castle Roche, to the land of legends and Irish chieftans.

Today, our waterways are still a most precious resource. Lough Muckno is described as the jewel in the crown of Irish Coarse Angling; the Fane and Castletown are noted for salmon and sea trout. Our waterways provide a home to many of our most iconic bird and wildlife species.

Increasingly, communities and tourists are using waterways as blueways for sport and recreation. The water is also an important resource for economic development throughout the catchment with the Fane, Glyde and Dee providing drinking water for most of the population. Dundalk bay is economically important for fishing and as a recreational amenity.

We are inviting everyone: individuals, businesses, farmers, interest groups, anglers, clubs and communities to participate in our events:

28^th February 8:00 pm Carlingford Heritage Centre, Carlingford
13^th March 8:00 pm Carrickmacross Workhouse
15^th March 8:30 pm Kingscourt Community Centre
21^st March 8:00 pm Hope Castle Lodge Castleblayney
23^rd March 8:00 pm Market House Dunleer
28^th March 8:00 pm Spirit Store, Dundalk
30^th March 8:00 pm Crossmaglen Community Centre

These free events aim to gather people’s experiences, memories and ideas in order to create a community vision for the future of local waterways. This new approach called the RIPPLE method will include contributions from local speakers and interactive activities to promote sharing and learning and is guaranteed to be fun.

Hosted by the newly established Local Authorities Waters and Communities Office (LAWCO) in order to develop a ‘vision’ for Dundalk Bay rivers. The Waters and Communities office was set up in 2016 to raise public awareness of our water resources and encourage local communities, public bodies and all stakeholders to work together in the management of our natural waters.

Your local Community Water Officer is Gretta McCarron who is looking forward to meeting you at an event near you.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Gretta at: gmccarron@lawco.ie or see www.watersandcommunities.ie

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.