New community water-quality forum launches for the Boyne catchment
A new forum bringing together community groups, environmental organisations and sectoral representatives to tackle water-quality issues in the Boyne catchment has been formally established.
The Boyne Catchment Community Forum, one of five pilot projects created under the State’s new River Basin Management Plan, held its inaugural meeting on November 12 at the Newgrange Hotel in Navan.
The initiative is coordinated by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) and is intended to strengthen public participation in the protection and restoration of Ireland’s rivers.
The forum follows a series of scoping sessions held earlier this year to determine how communities across Meath, Louth, Cavan, Offaly, Westmeath and Kildare could best collaborate to improve water quality.
Representatives now include groups such as the Boyne Rivers Trust, Meath IFA, Carbury Knockirr Bog Trust, Tidy Towns groups from Virginia and Mornington, Meath An Taisce, Solstice Meath, Trim Canoe Club and local angling clubs, alongside individuals from agriculture, recreation and community sectors.
While organisers say the forum has already achieved “a good sectoral balance and geographic spread”, they are seeking further participation from younger people and farmers.
Members elected their first leadership team at the meeting, appointing Ciaran Duggan of the Carbury Knockirr Bog Trust as Chair, Dermot Ward of Meath IFA as Vice-Chair, and Aoife Lynskey of Miltownpass Tidy Towns in Westmeath as Secretary. LAWPRO will continue to provide administrative support.
The forum has identified several priority issues for 2026, including the impact of urban and rural wastewater discharges—particularly sewage—on local waterways, increasing public awareness of water-quality concerns, and building stronger cooperation across the catchment.
Speaking at the event, Basil Mannion, Senior Community Water Officer with LAWPRO, said the forum would help identify catchment-specific priorities and develop plans to address them.
.“This is an exciting opportunity for public participation and LAWPRO will work closely with the Forum and local communities right across the Boyne Catchment to support better water quality for all,” he said.
Ciaran Duggan, the newly elected chair, said: “In many ways, the Boyne has come to symbolise community difference on this island and indeed actually forms part of the borders between the counties it drains.”
"The Boyne Catchment Community Forum is about overcoming these perceived differences, bringing together communities with an interest in improving the Boyne and all its tributaries, and giving them a strong voice in how it is looked after into the future.”
Further meetings are scheduled for December and early 2026, where members will receive training on accessing water-monitoring data via catchments.ie and will be briefed on historic catchment management plans.
The Boyne forum is part of LAWPRO’s national Catchment Community Fora pilot programme, which aims to support collaboration, share knowledge and develop practical, community-led solutions to benefit both water quality and local ecosystems.