Cork's Clean Coasts team on the crest of a wave with new boat deal

The award-winning voluntary eco-group which cleans some 80kms of coastline is about to set sail in the fight against marine litter.

The Clean Coasts Ballynamona team is about to buy a boat thanks to a sponsorship deal announced with DP Energy, a developers of renewable energy, and global energy firm Iberdrola under the Inis Ealga Marine Energy Park project they plan to develop off the south-east coast.

The boat and other equipment will help the group to protect more coastline, sea and marine life, and waterways.

The group’s founder, Proinsias Ó Tuama, said they are absolutely delighted with the support.

“This equipment will be a multiplier of our capabilities and assist us in tackling and solving the issues affecting our coast locally and nationally,” he said.

“This equipment and boat will allow the impact and reach of our work and actions to be greatly enhanced, whether for access to inaccessible coastal areas or to support much-needed citizen science programmes.

“We hope that the learning outcomes of this solution-focused project will help other coastal communities around Ireland.” 

300 volunteers

Clean Coasts Ballynamona was founded in 2015, is part of the Sea and Land Trust CLG, and has more than 300 volunteers who stage regular coastal clean-ups along an 80km stretch of coastline in East Cork — some 3% of the total Irish coastline. 

They have removed tonnes of marine litter over the years, including dozens of old tyres, large plastic containers and discarded fishing nets.

The group also manages 34 acres of coastal habitat in East Cork for biodiversity and has, since 2019, helped to implement biodiversity actions on over 600 acres. It also works with schools and businesses in environmental education.

DP Energy entered into a joint venture with Iberdrola in February 2021 for a 3GW pipeline of offshore wind projects, and they are in the early stages of developing the Inis Ealga Marine Energy Park, a 1,000MW (1GW) floating offshore wind project that will be located off Cork and Waterford.

Ecology and site investigation surveys are underway and once operational by 2030, it is estimated that the off-shore energy park could produce enough clean renewable energy to supply up to one million homes annually.

'Inspiring'

DP Energy’s community and stakeholder liaison manager, Yvonne Cronin, said they are proud to help Clean Coasts Ballynamona with their “inspiring work”.

“The purchase of this equipment will increase the effectiveness of the initiative by facilitating access to currently inaccessible areas that are harbouring vast quantities of marine litter,” she said.

Iberdrola’s offshore development senior project manager, Declan McMahon, described the cleaning and maintenance work being done by Clean Coasts Ballynamona volunteers as “challenging”.

“We hope that this agreement will help to make some of those tasks a little easier to manage,” he said.