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Tag Archives: Lough Derg

Study indicates poor water quality in Lough Derg

A series of remedial measures are needed to improve the water quality in Lough Derg, a major €500,000 angling project has revealed. Dr Fran Igoe, who is one of the promoters involved in a ground-breaking 10-year research programme into native Lough Derg fish species, claimed the water quality of the lake is mostly moderate to poor, with only a few sections classified as good. The regional co-ordinator for the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office Southern Region said water quality needs to be improved by involving all stakeholders in forestry, agriculture, wastewater treatment systems and septic tank owners. “Water quality in the lake underpins angling and tourism. It is important that people join the dots, so a better appreciation develops on the importance of managing the land near the lake properly,” Dr Igoe noted. The status of the lake and contributing rivers is based on a combination of water quality and habitat. The study noted that the quality of the …

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Award for Lough Derg promotion

The role played by three local authorities, including Clare County Council, in developing and promoting tourism in the Lough Derg region has received official recognition at the 2017 Irish Tourism Industry Awards. The Lough Derg Marketing Group (LDMG) was named Best Local Authority Tourism Initiative at an event in Dublin on Friday night attended by Minister for Tourism Shane Ross. The Lough Derg Marketing Group was set up to develop Lough Derg as a key visitor destination. Its membership includes Clare County Council, Tipperary County Council, Galway County Council, Waterways Ireland, Inland Fisheries Ireland, community development organisations, and business and trade representatives. The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC), the umbrella group for the tourism industry in Ireland, organises the Irish Tourism Industry Awards in conjunction with Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. Designed with the intention of rewarding innovation and excellence in tourism, 14 winners were selected from approximately 250 entries.

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Funding boost for Lough Derg

THE Lough Derg region is to benefit from a €200,000 fund to market, develop and promote the Lough Derg Blueway, which includes the soon-to-be completed Lough Derg Canoe Trail. The funding boost was announced by Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys and is to be spread across the Scariff and Nenagh rural economic development zones (REDZ). Under the 2016 REDZ scheme, just over €5.3 million was approved for 41 projects, of which eight were local authority-led projects impacting on the wider waterway network. They included Scariff/Nenagh on Lough Derg, from Bagnelstown on the Barrow to Banagher on the Shannon and Ballinamore on the Shannon-Erne Waterway. Minister Humphreys said, “The REDZ scheme aims to improve links between rural towns and their hinterlands to stimulate activity at a local level. It is one of a number of schemes that my department has been rolling out to boost economic activity and improve living standards across rural Ireland.” Managed …

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Crusier runs aground in low water

Low water levels on Lough Derg led to a 34ft cruiser with four people on board running aground yesterday afternoon by the Scilly Islands, off the Ogonnelloe shore. At 1.39pm, the Lough derg RNLI lifeboat launched with helm Ger Egan, Lian Knight and Delia Ho on board.  The lifeboat located the vessel at the junction of Scariff Bay and Parker’s Point at 1.54pm. The four people on board were safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets. Once the lifeboat crew were satisfied the vessel was not holed, it was taken off the rocks and into safe water. The cruiser continued its onward journey once drives and rudder were found to be undamaged and in good working order. Peter Kennedy, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat, has advised boat users to “to bring charts with you and know the areas close to shore and islands marked as un-navigatable, particularly as water levels are low in the lake at the …

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Launch date for book mapping Lough Derg by road and water

LOUGH Derg and its Islands: A Voyage of Discovery by Road and by Water, is the latest publication by East Clare historian Gerard Madden and Tipperary man Shane Creamer. The book will be launched this Saturday at 8.30pm in the Mountshannon Hotel by Éanna Rowe of Waterways Ireland and contains the only map of Lough Derg showing all the access points to the lake by road. According to Gerard, to map out the whole lake to travel around it by road, you would need to buy three separate Ordinance Survey maps. “This is the first time where you have one map of Lough Derg showing all the access routes to the lake,” he said. It is also a great angling resource, as it names all of the known spots around the lake. The authors have also seen to it to name 376 of the islands on Lough Derg. To date, the Ordinance Survey Discovery Series only provides names for 113 …

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No canoe trail on Lough Derg

Waterways Ireland “missed the boat” to provide a new canoe trail this summer, according to a local councillor. Councillor Pat Burke expressed disappointment that the proposed Lough Derg Canoe Trail, which was supposed to start with preliminary works last spring, will not be completed in time for this year’s high tourist season. He had asked Clare County Council and Waterways Ireland to provide an up-to-date progress report on the planned toilet, shower block and canoe storage facilities at Dromaan and Mountshannon Harbours in East Clare. “Waterways Ireland has missed the boat for the 2016 summer season. We were told previously that work would commence in the springtime; now works will not begin until the end of August. It will be next summer before anyone will be able to avail of this canoe trail,” he said. The Lough Derg Canoe Trail project is an initiative of the Lough Derg Marketing Group and is being funded under the Lough Derg Stimulus Fund. …

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Clare lifeguards kept busy

FIGURES compiled by Clare County Council reveal that 414 potential accidents were avoided at Clare’s nine Blue Flag beaches during the four weekends in June, due to the presence of on-duty lifeguards. The figures, which were released on Wednesday, show that four swimmers were rescued by lifeguards from the water, 68 people received first aid treatment, lifeguards reunited lost children with their guardians on six occasions, while safety advice was provided on 1,667 occasions. Clare County Council employs full-time lifeguard cover at Bishops Quarter (Ballyvaughan), Seafield IN Quilty and at Clare’s nine Blue Flag beaches from 11am to 7pm daily during July and August and on weekends during the month of June every year. “We want families and all visitors to our beaches to enjoy themselves but to be mindful of the importance of water safety awareness,” Clare McGrath, Clare Water Safety Development Officer said. “Many of the incidents related to informing and assisting bathers who had knowingly or unknowingly …

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A clean bill of health

Environmental Protection Agency testing over the past three years has found that bathing waters in Clare are “excellent”. The EPA report Bathing Water Quality in Ireland – A Report for the Year 2015 published this week states that 93 per cent of Irish bathing waters meet minimum EU Standards and three quarters of bathing waters continue to be of Excellent quality for the second-year running. Fresh water bathing waters at Ballyalla Lake, Ballycuggeran and Mountshannon (Lough Derg) were found to be excellent in terms of their E. coli, intestinal enterococci and overall status as were Bishopsquarter, Cappagh Pier in Kilrush, Fanore, Kilkee, Lahinch, Spanish Point, White Strand Doonbeg and Whitestrand, Miltown Malbay. Traught in Kinvara was also found to be excellent for the three years between 2012 and 2015. “Despite a cool and, at times, wet and windy summer, the overall quality of Ireland’s bathing waters continues to be extremely good with the stricter standards providing a high level of …

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