Loughshinny harbour

Corsendonk

A.Partridge wrote: »

Was up at Loughshinny for a few hours this morning.

Beautiful morning. The light was coming and going but was very warm.

However during the time I was there:

- A horse was being exercised on the beach being cantered up and down the line of the tide. I watched as the horse defecated on the beach and then left, with the rider not making any effort to clean up the mess. :mad:

- This was being watched by two lifeguards on duty (1 male 1 female) who did nothing? .

_ I don't know how people are seriously expected to swim on a beach where animals are allowed to defecate?

- There was ample evidence of fish carcasses, prawn heads and all manner of fish waste discarded on both sides of the pier and on the beach.

- On the far side of the bay near Drumanagh there are several broken fishing boxes and old netting washed up on the rocks as well as what appears to be a very large central heating cylinder/boiler thing (industrial not domestic) washed up on the shore. The insulation surrounding the boiler had broken away in places and was being eroded by each tide.

- Overall the place was in its usual filthy state.

I left the harbour area and made my way across Drumanagh (which is the site of a promontory fort and is supposed to be a National Monument) to find that the Martello Tower is covered in graffiti and some of the stonework to the small outbuilding has been removed, so much so that it has rendered that structure quite unsafe as it looks liable to collapse fairly soon.

The terrible pity is that I could see lots of wildlife from Drumanagh - seals, cormorants, herons, owls, and various insects etc and the water around the head was crystal clear too.

Some of the previous posters (well one actually) seem to think that because Loughshinny pier is a place of work for members of one industry (fishing) that they then have a right to leave it in a condition so poor that it negatively impacts on a much larger industry (tourism) and that somehow this is ok?

The big joke is that there is a measure every week or so taken of the total coliform count and all that jazz posted up on a board (presumably by some council employees). It would be more to the point if they could seriously get their heads around some more practical things aswell such as:


1. Educate the fishermen into how to responsibly deal with waste. At the moment as far as I can see the term 'sustainability' seems to mean nothing to some (the majority of ?) fishermen, even though it should.

2. Educate the beach users (i.e. horse exercisers and litter droppers) in the responsible use of the beach and how it should be left so that other people can enjoy the facility.

3. There seems to be no effort made by any group, either Council or Local, to clear rubbish and large detritus from the beach or surrounding rock areas. Even though the beach attracts lots of walkers (some swimmers eeeewwww) and there are even people like me who are attracted by the geological features in the area....and this after all is the summer when peak visiting is expected.

While I don't condone the slanging match the OP got into, I can understand where he was coming from as regards his original post.

Well done, an extremely good and detailed post. On the point of Drummagh I don't think it is a national monument, I know the history forum had a thread on it, I must double check it. For all the talk about its historical value I don't think the state ever got around to doing a proper dig on the site. Sadly IMHO I think the site will be looted by metal detectors and damaged by the dirt bikers that can be seen racing around the site on youtube before the state gets its finger out into protecting the area,

LeoB

Agree with the 2 previous posts.

Would like to add about the tower that anti - social behaviour is going on over there these past few years with underage drinking and graffitti being a major cause for concern

The bikers as previously stated can be seen quite plainly speeding around. I dont think this particulr activity would be very hard to stop if F.C.C., O.P.W. and Gardái put their heads together. That headland is a fantastic walk and seeing as little or no excavation has taken place or likely to take place a proper path should be installed around the headland.

From Loughshinny harbour its a stunning walk no matter the weather we have.

I never noticed how dirty the place became until I heard my 8year old describe it over the week end. Like a lot of other things is the will there from the authorities to do anything about it?

Duzzer

None of you seem know that Fingal Co Co pump raw sewerage out into a sea, the pipe is just north of the harbour so they are actually the worst offender of all. By the way most of the problems on the Drumanagh are caused by people not from Loughshinny,the easiest access to the Drumanagh is from the Rush side.

LeoB

Duzzer wrote: »

None of you seem know that Fingal Co Co pump raw sewerage out into a sea, the pipe is just north of the harbour so they are actually the worst offender of all. By the way most of the problems on the Drumanagh are caused by people not from Loughshinny,the easiest access to the Drumanagh is from the Rush side.

We are all well aware of what Fingal pump into the sea. It goes on all around our coast. Rather than shift from the op lets just remember this is about the state of Loughshinny Harbour and beach not The Drummanagh. The Drummanagh is littered with Beer cans and Graffitti and in my opinion is easier to reach from Loughshinny than Rush noth beach.

The kids (14-16YR OLDS) I passed walking towards Drummanagh from Loughshinny last Friday with a few cans of beer were NOT from Rush and from what I could make out they were not from St. Catherines either. So please dont try and point the finger at Rush people for the mess that has become loughshinny Harbour. Yes I have seen Rush kids drinking around the Drummanagh also. We have covered that in other threads.

Duzzer

LeoB wrote: »

We are all well aware of what Fingal pump into the sea. It goes on all around our coast. Rather than shift from the op lets just remember this is about the state of Loughshinny Harbour and beach not The Drummanagh. The Drummanagh is littered with Beer cans and Graffitti and in my opinion is easier to reach from Loughshinny than Rush noth beach.

The kids (14-16YR OLDS) I passed walking towards Drummanagh from Loughshinny last Friday with a few cans of beer were NOT from Rush and from what I could make out they were not from St. Catherines either. So please dont try and point the finger at Rush people for the mess that has become loughshinny Harbour. Yes I have seen Rush kids drinking around the Drummanagh also. We have covered that in other threads.

There is alot more people accessing the Drumanagh from Rush than Loughshinny. The access from the Loughshinny side is dangerous and it would take the same amount of time to get there as it would from the Rush side, its alot more straight forward and less dangerous to access from the Rush side. It would be known as a bit of a playground for St. Catherines kids. I didnt say anyone from Rush was causing a mess down the harbour, did I?

LeoB

Duzzer wrote: »

There is alot more people accessing the Drumanagh from Rush than Loughshinny. The access from the Loughshinny side is dangerous and it would take the same amount of time to get there as it would from the Rush side, its alot more straight forward and less dangerous to access from the Rush side. It would be known as a bit of a playground for St. Catherines kids. I didnt say anyone from Rush was causing a mess down the harbour, did I?

You are switching what the thread is about from the state of Loughshinny harbour to the Drummanagh. Its a matter of opinion where its easier to get there from. Personally I would always go from Loughshinny, I like the area.

To be fair You never said anyone from Rush is causing the mess at Loughshinny Harbour 9you implied it) but at least now you admit there is a mess down there!! So who is causing the mess on Loughshinny Harbour? Where do the horses come from? Are people walking them from Skerries and Rush to crap on Loughshinny beach?

Duzzer wrote:

By the way most of the problems on the Drumanagh are caused by people not from Loughshinny,the easiest access to the Drumanagh is from the Rush side.

You are happy to point the finger at St. Catherines kids for using Drummanagh as a bit of a playground but I know its not only them and if you are honest so do you. I would also take from your last line unless people make an effort to only access Drummanagh from Rush you are implying it is Rush people causing the mess on Drummanagh (St. Catherines is in Rush) and you are deflecting from the real issue, The filthy state of Loughshinny Harbour.

megafan

I would think the last few posts have answered the question "why is Loughshinny Harbour so filthy" it would seem there is a real problem with anti social behavior in the general area & if the harbour reeks of rotting fish who would want to spend any time there... Maybe the local fishermen want it that way???

Duzzer

LeoB wrote: »

You are switching what the thread is about from the state of Loughshinny harbour to the Drummanagh. Its a matter of opinion where its easier to get there from. Personally I would always go from Loughshinny, I like the area.

To be fair You never said anyone from Rush is causing the mess at Loughshinny Harbour 9you implied it) but at least now you admit there is a mess down there!! So who is causing the mess on Loughshinny Harbour? Where do the horses come from? Are people walking them from Skerries and Rush to crap on Loughshinny beach?



You are happy to point the finger at St. Catherines kids for using Drummanagh as a bit of a playground but I know its not only them and if you are honest so do you. I would also take from your last line unless people make an effort to only access Drummanagh from Rush you are implying it is Rush people causing the mess on Drummanagh (St. Catherines is in Rush) and you are deflecting from the real issue, The filthy state of Loughshinny Harbour.

When did I say Rush people were causing a mess in the Harbour? The harbour is for fishermen to carry out the business of fishing. To do this you need to have cages and you also need bait so believe or not you might find some of these things on the harbours or around the harbour the same way as you might find files or paper work in an office. I see Rush Harbour is tidy but is also devoid of any proper fishing activity, nice to see youve won down there!

Corsendonk

Duzzer wrote: »

When did I say Rush people were causing a mess in the Harbour? The harbour is for fishermen to carry out the business of fishing. To do this you need to have cages and you also need bait so believe or not you might find some of these things on the harbours or around the harbour the same way as you might find files or paper work in an office. I see Rush Harbour is tidy but is also devoid of any proper fishing activity, nice to see youve won down there!

You keep going back to saying its a working harbour, its still a requirement to keep the workplace Safe and clean. The old excuse that its a workplace doesn't hold up much with the HSA. With the downturn in the building sector they moved their inspectors to the banking industry(not a joke) and now have started to zone in on the 2 industry black spots of Farming and Fishing. Now Farming is well protected politically and the HSA are practically filling out the paper work for the farmers but Fishing as we know doesn't have so many friends in the Dail. So if the fishermen can't even get the house keeping right of ensuring the quay is clean and tidy with rubbish and broken equipment removed what chance do they have with the HSA? Is there a cleaning record kept of the quay? Have the fishermen got risk assessments for every activity on file?

Eoineo

Howth & Skerries Harbours are working harbours and aren't in the same condition as Loughshinny.

Before anybody makes comments about them being under the care of the Harbourmaster and/or Fingal County Council, Balbriggan is under the care of neither and is also a working harbour.

Duzzer

Eoineo wrote: »

Howth & Skerries Harbours are working harbours and aren't in the same condition as Loughshinny.

Before anybody makes comments about them being under the care of the Harbourmaster and/or Fingal County Council, Balbriggan is under the care of neither and is also a working harbour.

Balbriggan has had its moments over the years and the harbour isn't really as accessible as Loughshinny when the tide is out, therfore it is spared from inspection by the boards.ie harbour inspectors, there is a lot of crap in that harbour aswell. Id agree about the harbours in Howth and Skerries, they are tidy. Howth has a harbour master etc. and Skerries is more about yacthing these days rather than fishing,all serious boats are gone to Howth.

Mr_Hat

I spent the morning on the Beach in Balbriggan and can testify that its is immaculate. Not a SINGLE dead fish carcass anywhere. The harbour also seems to be very well maintained. The state of Louchshinney beach and the sheer number of fish carcasses is inexcusable.

Duzzer

Mr_Hat wrote: »

I spent the morning on the Beach in Balbriggan and can testify that its is immaculate. Not a SINGLE dead fish carcass anywhere. The harbour also seems to be very well maintained. The state of Louchshinney beach and the sheer number of fish carcasses is inexcusable.

Were you in the harbour or on the beach and was the tide completely out in the harbour for you to see. The difference with Balbriggan is that the working part of the harbour is completely closed off from the beach.

Duzzer

Some pictures of Balbriggan harbour with the tide out, in the first picture a flock of seagulls are eating prawn tails that were thrown into the harbour and the second photo shows ome red oily substance on the sand.

THE WALRUS

sorry for jumping in so late but on a recent visit to the harbour i found it in a tolerable state for a working harbour,no fish lying around or general rubbish.. talking to the local fishermen it was pointed out to me that since a certain fisherman had moved to howth harbour the problem of waste materials has ceased! as they say ''it only takes one bad apple''.

Duzzer

THE WALRUS wrote: »

sorry for jumping in so late but on a recent visit to the harbour i found it in a tolerable state for a working harbour,no fish lying around or general rubbish.. talking to the local fishermen it was pointed out to me that since a certain fisherman had moved to howth harbour the problem of waste materials has ceased! as they say ''it only takes one bad apple''.

Fair play Walrus, I red something similar on another forum.