Community around Lough Funshinagh in ‘turmoil’

The extent of the flooding at Lough Funshinagh in South Roscommon. Picture: Gerard O'Loughlin

The community of Lough Funshinagh in Co Roscommon is in “turmoil” as a result of the recent flooding.

Local farmer Tommy Kearney said that in addition, farmers have suffered “significant financial losses”.

Lough Funshinagh, which is a Special Area of Conservation, is classified as a turlough, and is referred to as Ireland’s ‘disappearing lake’, as a result of its sudden ability to disappear.

However, according to representatives of the Lough Funshinagh Flood Crisis committee, an extensive area of water has persisted for most years.

Mr Kearney told a recent sitting of the Oireachtas joint committee on agriculture, food and the marine that with the reduction of circa 30 acres of his land for the entirety of six years due to the flooding, he has had to reduce his stock from 12 suckler cows to four, and his breeding ewe flock from 50 to 26.

“In addition to this, access to my remaining land has become problematic,” Mr Kearney told the meeting.

“In February 2021, my vet was able to access my farmyard for my annual herd test on Tuesday but [when] he returned to read the results on the following Friday, he could only access on foot.

“I’m sure you will all appreciate that such access issues cause serious difficulties and stress in times of animal husbandry emergencies both for farmer and animal.”

He said there is another farmer in the area, who is less than 1km from a land parcel, “forced to make a round trip of 30km to access his land due to road being flooded”.

“The impact of the flooding was and is the cause of much turmoil in the lives of the affected community,” Mr Kearney continued.

“For weeks, and indeed months on end, people are afraid to leave their homes other than for necessary trips such as shopping, lest weather conditions changed and caused flooding.

“In my own case, in 2021, we went to Roscommon town only to find that on our return, in the space of less than three hours due to a moderate increase in wind speed resulting in increased waves, the waters had overrun the road and we could not access our home with our groceries.

“Thankfully, we never required the services of emergency services.”

At the mercy of the weather

With the onset of winter, Mr Kearney said, and flood levels “already rising again even as we speak”, the “distress and anxiety continues for the community”.

“We are continually at the mercy of the weather,” he said.

Local councillor and farmer Laurence Fallon also told the committee that “from an environmental point of view, this is as serious as it is from an economic point of view”.

“Everything in the lake is dead,” Mr Fallon said.

“It’s absolutely not a functioning SAC now,” he added.

Minister of state at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Patrick O’Donovan said last month that he is “doing all I can” to support both the community and Roscommon County Council in progressing to find an “effective and sustainable solution” to address the flooding.