COMMENT: How has the River Suir in Tipperary got into such a state?
The River Suir Thurles is in very poor condition at the moment
The report on page four of the Tipperary Star issued on Thursday, September 19, 2024, showed the River Suir in Thurles is in a desperate state of neglect.
Another detailed report in the Irish Examiner on Friday, August 23, 2024, penned by Thurles man Melvin Brennan, had already shown how heavily polluted the river is, and overgrown with algae and foliage.
It also pointed out the proliferation in the river and the undergrowth of what can only be described as mostly rubbish, such as all types of bottles, cans, plastic bags, traffic cones, and of course, supermarket trolleys.
In fairness to the Council staff they had removed a number of trolleys in the last few weeks but those there now are embedded in the mud and weeds and hard to see unless a close inspection is undertaken, as was done in this survey.
How has the river that should be an amenity to be enjoyed by all got into such a state?
This issue is examined in detail in the reports in the Tipperary Star and Examiner newspapers.
It would seem that the issue of biodiversity and allowing nature a greater say in how the river and its flora and fauna develop has not succeeded, in particular in the section between the Cathedral Bridge and Butler’s Island, in the way it has in Cahir and Clonmel.
CAPTION: Refresh Thurles event in the river 2019. Picture shows the short amount of time in which the river condition has deteriorated.
The trees on both sides of the river from the new footbridge to Butler’s Island have not been pruned for over 20 years and are a source of concern to the flow of the river.
So, the Local Authority Waters Programme Officer Fran Igoe’s report to the Thurles and Templemore Municipal District Council confirmed that a lot of work has to be done to devise a plan that will return theSuir in Thurles to what it once was.
Melvin Brennan contacted Refresh Thurles Tidy Towns representatives Tommy Barret and John Lanigan and some other interested parties about carrying out a clean-up of the Suir Riverwalk from the new Footbridge at Thomond Road to where it meets the Slievenamon Road.
We met on Saturday morning September 21, 2024, at 9:30am at the Refresh Thurles Garden at Rossa Street where we collected Litter pickers, gloves, collection bags, disinfectant, and hand sanitiser and proceeded to the river walk.
Jerry Loughnane of Thurles Gun Club, who do a great job with the Pheasant Island Project, joined us and we did a survey of the river and then proceeded to do a litter pick from the Thomond Road Entrance to the Slievenamon Road Exit.
We collected five bags of rubbish and deposited them at the Kavanagh Road exit for collection.
The people who use the path and make “camps” in the undergrowth to have drinking parties do leave a lot of rubbish after them and that is unfortunate.
The river walk is a wonderful amenity and should be appreciated by everyone,including those who have dogs, and picking up dog litter is necessary too.
We encourage all to comply, please.
A local man who is well known and well versed in all that goes on locally stopped to chat and in the course of the conversation proposed one solution to the river’s issues.
Build a sluice below Butler’s Island and use it to regulate the flow of water from the town bridge as necessary. Thanks, John. Worth looking into I am sure?
Refresh Thurles Tidy Towns group will hold their AGM in October and we would encourage all who have an interest in the environment and some time to spare to come and join us, please.
We will be delighted to meet you. Details will be announced in the Tipperary Star, the Parish Newsletter, and our Facebook page: Refresh Thurles.