Skibbereen fish kill case against distillery withdrawn by Inland Fisheries Ireland

Due to 'difficulties within Inland Fisheries Ireland', it will not be proceeding with the case

Fish samples at the scene of the fish kill along the River Ilen in Skibbereen in West Cork in 2021.

A case brought against one of the country’s largest Irish-owned distillery companies by Inland Fisheries Ireland has been withdrawn in the the district court.

Vincent Coakley, solicitor for Inland Fisheries Ireland, told Skibbereen District Court that his client would be withdrawing prosecution proceedings against West Cork Distillers, of Marsh Rd, Skibbereen, Co Cork, that were brought two years ago in relation to an alleged fish kill in the llen River in Skibbereen. 

Mr Coakley said that due to “difficulties within Inland Fisheries Ireland”, it would not be proceeding with the case.

In 2022, West Cork Distillers had pleaded guilty to three offences relating to a discharge of liquids into the River Ilen in Skibbereen on July 21, 2021, which its was alleged had led to the deaths of approximately 2,000 fish including salmon and sea trout, though they denied that the discharge was responsible for the deaths of the fish.

Judge James McNulty had ordered the company to “make amends” by donating €1,000 each to the 26 tidy towns group across West Cork. 

He imposed a conditional discharge for two years with the case due to come back before the court on Tuesday, during which time West Cork Distillers were expected to “be of good behaviour”. 

Stephen O’Donoghue, defending, told the court that his client had donated 26 cheques to the value of €26,000 as suggested by the court which he noted was a significantly higher sum than the maximum penalty of €15,000 which could have been imposed. 

He asked that legal costs of €5,500 paid by his client directly to Inland Fisheries Ireland would be reimbursed as there was no longer any basis for them to pay the fees as the prosecution had been withdrawn.

Judge James McNulty said that West Cork Distillers had dealt with the matter in “a noble and gracious manner” and he order the legal fees to be repaid to which Mr Coakley agreed.