Danger that someone could fall into Tipperary river as popular walkway is overgrown
A Tipperary councillor has warned that someone could fall into the River Suir in Thurles because vegetation along the town’s popular river walk has become dangerously overgrown.
At the June meeting of the Thurles Municipal District, councillor Jim Ryan said that the River Suir had gotten so overgrown in multiple spots, including along the river walk, that there is a danger that someone will fall into the river.
Councillors received a presentation from Ann Marie Fleming, one of Tipperary County Council’s biodiversity officers, on ongoing biodiversity efforts across the county.
“I just want to raise the issue of the River Suir in Thurles, in some areas at the moment it’s completely overgrown. I know the response back every time I raise it is in relation to biodiversity, and that’s why it can’t be cut back,” Cllr Ryan said.
“On the river walk, behind the shopping centre, I’ve had numerous complaints of people saying how dangerous it is now to walk that walkway, in particular for anyone who might not be used to walking it.
“The overgrowth is gone so bad now that if you weren’t aware of the river and the overgrowth, you would think that the overgrowth is part of the footpath,” the independent councillor said.
Cllr Ryan said that something needed to be done about this before someone got seriously hurt.
“There’s a danger that someone will fall into that river eventually, so I’m just asking again for something to be done.
“I passed it again this morning and I really noticed how overgrown with vegetation that the River Suir is. For safety reasons alone, can that be cut back? The river is so overgrown it doesn’t look good, and it’s now a danger to walkers,” Cllr Ryan added.
In response, Ms Fleming said that the council can look into cutting back some of the vegetation in the interest of health and safety.
“Absolutely, if there’s any issues with health and safety, we’re more than happy to look at that. In terms of biodiversity in general, we try not to cut too far back into the river bank, but if it’s impeding footpaths there is a danger,” she said.
The Thurles river walk is a popular walking route in the town, but issues with flooding have also been raised over the years.
The condition of the River Suir through Thurles has also been raised by a number of councillors in recent months, with Cllr Kay Cahill Skehan saying at a recent meeting that despite water quality improvements, the river through the town remained an “eyesore.”
“The River Suir is a huge problem to us within the town, and now, as water levels start dropping it will be a comment made to us as we go around the town about how bad it looks,” Cllr Cahill Skehan said.
“As you walk up the town, the river is an eyesore, and when you go down to Cahir, the quality of the river seems to be much better,” she added.
At this month’s meeting, Ms Fleming said the council would examine whether vegetation along the walkway could be cut back where it posed a health and safety risk.