€1m flood wall divides community

LIMERICK’S €1 million retainer wall by Clancy’s Strand is a divisive issue.

Doubting it will serve its purpose to stop them being flooded yet again, residents have dubbed the Shannonside construction their Berlin Wall.

“This has been going on for a long time,” said poll-topping Mayor Michael Hourigan yesterday of the controversy over efforts to combat the local flooding.

“I don’t see much wrong with the wall, apart from the height which may obstruct the view of the river for residents of Clancy’s Strand.

“As a lay person and a public representative, I have to accept it if the professional people say that’s what’s needed - unless there is an alternative.”

Local residents’ spokes-man John Gunning, whose house faces onto the controversial 300-yard wall, is an outspoken opponent of the scheme. “At the moment we have spring tides coming. If we get low pressure, a west wind and a spring tide the flooding will occur again,” he said.

“You might miss the spring tide altogether; other years you might get it two or three times when the road and the houses on the low end of the Strand get flooded with water. This has been going on for a long time.”

Mr Gunning claims what needs to be done is to stop the water coming in through the drains and open joints in the old limestone wall.

He is scathing of the new construction, consisting of large pre-cast concrete made to look like stone and built on top of the existing 19th century stone wall.

Mr Gunning says the old wall is “as solid as the pyramids, it would never move.”

Mr Hourigan said Limerick City Council in conjunction with the Board of Works (BoW) came up with the idea of raising the wall.

“The wall is almost completed. It’s costing €1m. The BoW, the professionals in this matter, said this is the type of wall that should be put in place. There was no alternative suggested.”

The professionals, according to Mr Hourigan, say the wall is at the optimal height and will ensure no flooding of Clancy’s Strand.

“Lay people may have a different opinion about that. But we have a report by a professional body of people who say this wall will prevent flooding.”