Whiskey producer told to pay €26k to Tidy Towns following West Cork fish kill

West Cork Distillers admitted polluting the River Ilen but denied responsibility for the death of 2,000 fish

Whiskey producer West Cork Distillers denied responsibility for the fish kill in the River Ilen. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Whiskey producer West Cork Distillers, which admitted polluting a Cork river but denied responsibility for the death of 2,000 fish, has been told to distribute €26,000 between all the region’s Tidy Towns.

The firm was told by Judge James McNulty that he would adjourn penalty on three counts of pollution until April 26 if €1,000 was presented to each of the 26 Tidy Town branches in West Cork.

The company had admitted responsibility for polluting the River Ilen on July 21 last year, but denied being responsible for the fish kill, claiming that had occurred incidentally due to high water temperatures and low flow in the river.

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) senior environmental officer Michael McPartland told Skibbereen District Court that he received a call on the morning of the event that there were a number of dead fish around the lower part of the River Ilen.

IFI officer David Lordan examined the scene, which had around 2,000 dead fish, including salmon and trout, around a stretch of 1km.

Mr McPartland told the court that the fish had essentially been deprived of oxygen because of discharge into the water from the company’s pipes.

West Cork Distillers claimed that although it fully accepted that an “over-foaming” of one of its large vessels had occurred, which caused pollution into the river, it was the extremely hot weather in July that had killed the fish.

It was 27.6 degrees in air temperature, 20 degrees in the water, and the river flow was unusually low, the company said, and with which IFI concurred.

Company cites report

The company cited a report by Noel Baker in the

Irish Examiner

in the days following the incident in its defence.

The report quoted IFI head of operations Gregory Forde saying it was a “sad reality that low water levels and high water temperature can lead to fish kills”, and West Cork Distillers claimed the fish deaths were due to this natural phenomenon and not the pollution, despite it happening on the same day.

Judge McNulty said that while Mr Baker was a “distinguished journalist with a distinguished newspaper”, the report was not of evidential value.

IFI solicitor Vincent Coakley told the court that the company’s directors were initially individually charged with polluting offences, which had not been done in his 25 years.

Although the individual charges were withdrawn, and just the company itself was before the court, Mr Coakley said the individual charges were brought initially because it was felt the company was not taking the matter seriously enough.

Company director John O’Connell was adamant that his firm did take the matter seriously, but that his own extensive chemistry background had led him to believe the pollution was not related to the 2,000 fish dying.

Judge McNulty said that he was satisfied that it was.

However, he reserved judgement until April 22 to allow the company to distribute the €26,000.

The firm has been a good employer, had a good reputation, and he did not want it or the distillery industry to suffer any excess reputational damage, Judge McNulty said.

West Cork Distillers' most recent turnover was €54m, with €4m in net profit, and assets of €22m, the court heard.