Pollution of Liffey
Pollution of Liffey
10 Jul 1957POLLUTION OF LIFFEY
Sir, During the past four days 16 dead salmon and grilse have been taken from the Liffey river at the Custom House Dock by Mr. J. O’Reilly, of Sandymount. None of these fish bore a market of net, gaff or hook. All died of poisoning during their bid to get from the sea to the fresh water through the awful cesspool of pollution which extends now from Islandbridge to the Pigeon House. Mr. O’Reilly picked up just 16 salmon; goodness knows how many more have died. There is much ballyhoo nowadays about tourism and how to attract wealthy anglers from abroad to fish our rivers and lakes. It has been boasted that in Dublin, the capital city of the Republic, one could fish for and catch a salmon within a threepenny bus ride from O’Connell Bridge. The Liffey was at one time a great salmon river and could be made great again, now that netting has ended at Islandbridge. It can be written off, however, like the Tyne and other once great English rivers, if industrial pollution is to be allowed wipe out the adult fish returning to spawn. The Liffey and Its tributaries in and around Dublin — the Tolka, Dodder, Poddle and Camac are a disgrace to the City. Each year in the Dodder alone hundreds of brown trout
sea trout and salmon are poisoned.. Protests are made, acknowledged and apparently forgotten, for nothing seems to he done to remedy the situation. For the past month or more the pollution has been particularly bad and how the citizens stand the disgusting smell of it is a mystery.
The rights of Liffey fishery owners and fishermen, who have to pay rates, rent, licence duties and other charges, are being grievously injured. The responsibility must lie somewhere, but it is common gossip that in this regard the ” buck is being passed.” Surely it must be the duty of some higher authority to pin-point the responsibility and insist that the existing mess be cleaned up and pollution prevented for the future.
RICHARD RICE,
Hon. Secretary National Salmon Anglers’ Federation, August 9. 1957.