Bundoran Bradóge River request shines light on lack of Rivers authority

The staggering revelation that no central rivers agency is in charge of Donegal Rivers came up at the September monthly meeting of Donegal Municipal District.

It emerged after what initially appeared to be a fairly simple request by county councillor Michael McMahon (SF) to get a hand to clear the rubble and reeds “at the mouth of the Bradogue River” in Bundoran.

As the discussion continued arising from the motion, Cllr Michael Naughton added that he had encountered the same problems in trying to address river issues pertaining to the Termon River in Pettigo.

"It is a big issue in every town and village,” he told the meeting.

Acting Area manager for Road and Transportation Mark Sweeney explained that the whole area of rivers, their management and who was in charge, was an ongoing issue, as the council effectively had no authority over them.

As far as he was aware, the only river that came under the remit of the Office of Public Works (OPW) was the River Erne in Ballyshannon within the MD, if not the county. 

The Bradoge River runs through the resort of Bundoran (Photo: Michael McHugh)

Cllr Michael McMahon said that as the central focal point in the resort, the Bradóge (spelling varies) which runs past the local Catholic Church and down to the sea, as well as being located right beside the local tourist information office and the town’s main public amenities. 

He said: “It is the centrepiece of the town and a lot of money has been spent on that area over the last number of years and we have just spent money on the public toilets. The area beside the river has been painted by the local Tidy Towns Committee and TUS workers and new seating had just been installed over the last couple of years which had added greatly to the attraction of the area.”

When Cllr McMahon said that all he needed was to get stuff removed from the river exit, it might require a digger for half a day, the area manager Mr Sweeney said that it would important to ascertain the type of rubbish is located there in order to ascertain if the environment section of the council could get involved. 

In reference to the OPW being in charge of the Erne river, Cllr McMahon observed that some agencies seemed more worried about the fish than the public. 

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In a written response as well, signed off by Seamus Hopkins from the Council’s Environment section, Cllr McMahon was told:  

“The Environment section does not have a role in relation to the management of rivers. However, the waste enforcement section will contact Councillor McMahon to ascertain the nature of the rubble to determine if it is construction and demolition waste, and if this is the case, the options in relation to dealing with it.”

The motion was seconded by Cllr Barry Sweeny.