West Cork farmer fined after drainage works destroyed natural habitat 'for a long, long time'

Dunmanway farmer had used an excavator to drain a tributary of the Bandon River and had dredged a 500m stretch down to bedrock causing major silt discharge, court hears

Work had removed bed material at a time of year when fish could be spawning in the gravel, while the stream bed had been left as 'bare rock', court told. File picture: Dan Linehan

A Dunmanway farmer has been fined €1,500 after drainage works left 500m of a tributary of the Bandon River dredged to bedrock and caused a major silt discharge.

The natural habitat had been destroyed “for a long, long time” and would take years to recover, an environmental officer said. 

Ian Kingston, aged 58, of Sillahertane, Dunmanway, Co Cork, pleaded guilty at Clonakilty District Court to two offences under the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959. 

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) was contacted about a discharge into the stream at Sillahertane on January 8, 2026.

IFI environmental officer Michael McPartland told the court an excavator had been used in the stream during drainage works on farmland. He said a 500m stretch had been dredged down to bedrock. Water upstream was clear, but suspended solids downstream were 330 times above the permitted level.

At a point 1km downstream, suspended solids were still 40 times above the clean level, Mr McPartland said, adding that the silt could smother fish eggs on the stream bed. 

The work had removed bed material at a time of year when fish could be spawning in the gravel, while the stream bed had been left as “bare rock”.

Mr McPartland said Kingston was responsible for the land and had instructed the excavator driver to carry out the work. He said Kingston had been co-operative, did not obstruct the investigation, and stopped the works immediately.

Solicitor Flor Murphy said Kingston had never previously come to the attention of IFI in 40 years of farming. He had leased the land from a neighbour who had emigrated to Australia and intended to improve drainage for his dairy herd. 

Mr Murphy said Kingston did not realise he was not permitted to carry out the work and had learned an expensive lesson. He said Kingston had since consulted IFI about further works, apologised, and had no previous convictions.

Judge Joanne Carroll said Kingston had caused a substantial amount of deleterious material to enter the watercourse, digging too deeply and at the wrong time of year. 

She fined him €1,000 on one charge, allowing six months to pay, and €500 on the second, allowing three months to pay. No order for costs was made.

This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme