Weir to be removed after long-running dispute

A WEIR on one of the country’s finest salmon fisheries is to be removed after a long-running legal battle was settled.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, announced last night that the Clondulane weir on the Blackwater River will be removed next summer after settlement was reached in advance of the hearing of the court case.

A long-running dispute had developed between the Government and the Duke of Devonshire, owner of Lismore Castle, the weir and the fishing rights on a one-and-three-quarter mile stretch of the river because the Duke believed the weir’s removal would have a drastic impact on salmon fishing all along the river.