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Conservation Project 2000

The lifeblood of any club or organisation is its members. MGC has realised this and actively sought out new members each year. Shooting enthusiasts often only need a word of encouragement to take the first step into becoming club members. Far better to have people on board than on the side. New members bring new ideas and new approaches. Such it was in late 1999 when the idea of draining the mill pond and mill race with the intention of re-introducing ducks to the area came about. By kind permission of Mr Willy O Brien (a lifelong club member) we began the project in 2000. Little did we know then that the project was to mushroom far beyond anything we could imagine.

As we worked that first Easter week end the the village community became aware that the club was draining the river and its approaches. So what you might ask ?. Well for the past number of years the village had been experiencing serious flooding whenever heavy rains fell. Many local businesses, shops, pubs and domestic premises had suffered the heart break of flood damage. There appeared to be no help forthcoming from any source. MGC was approached and asked could we help by extending the drainage scheme through the village and beyond. This was a major undertaking, both financially and labour wise. Suffice to say we agreed to proceed and the work carried on until the entire river was cleaned and deepened. Heavy plant machinery did a lot of this work but there was in addition much fencing of farmers lands along the length of the river to be carried out. As we proceeded through the village we discovered that one major obstacle was left. There is one bridge in Mullinahone , right in the center of the village and here we realised we had a big undertaking ahead. The river passes right under the street for approx 50m and due to years of silting the river bed had risen so high that flood waters could not pass fast enough underneath the street. There was nothing for it but to roll up the sleeves and get under the street with jack hammers , picks, shovels and wheelbarrows. As the silt was removed by hand from one channel at a time it was wheebarrowed to a point where a digger could lift it from the river bed and onto a tractor trailer for removal. Eleven trailer loads were removed in this fashion lowering the river bed by about 5 feet. Work commenced at first light on a Saturday morning and continued until dark. We ate in shifts fed by the local villagers who appreciated our efforts on their behalf.

Now that the work was completed would it solve the flooding problem ?.. This was the topic of conversation for many weeks in the community and even the local PP gave us his blessing. We did not have long to wait. The heavens opened, the river turned brown and roared towards the village. Nothing happened . The waters entered the mill race and pond having passed through the village at speed. All members who had worked so hard on the project actually turned up on the night of the first heavy rains and watched as the water passed by. There was no back slapping, just a quiet satisfaction on a team effort and a sense of helping the greater community. Three years have now gone by with no flooding in the village. We as a club hope to get many more years flood relief before we might again be asked to go under ground !.

Funding for this project was considerable and for a while we were out of pocket. Luckily the community got together and sough compensation from the Co Council through local elected representatives. Eventually after all the red tape was sorted through funding arrived and the club was compensated for its costs.

The mill pond did eventually get its ducks and they have given us much satisfaction (and some heartbreak). There is very little to compare with the pleasure of watching a flock of ducks flighting into the pond on a summers evening whilst listening to the waters flow through the new sluice gates.

Club members and local Postman Joe Pollard removing
silt from under village river


New sluice gates constructed by Martin & Sean Reilly (pictured here)


Picture shows recent tree planting in the bog conservation area, Timmy Brett, Michael Reilly and Gearoid Gahan in  background.