FED-UP residents in Ballinhassig, whose homes were flooded for the third time following Storm Babet in October, have built their own flood defence, with the help of the fundraising website GoFundMe, raising almost €17,000.
The works were completed on the same day that Cork County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW) announced that they had appointed a consultant for the official scheme, marking the first stage of the project to protect the eight residential properties in the Tulligbeg/ Tulligmore area on the eastern side of the village.
Locals decided to get the work done themselves because they were frustrated with delays. They employed local contractors to build an embankment at the back of their homes, beside the Owenabue River. The works took a week to complete and were finished last Monday.
Denis McCarthy, who organised the fundraiser, said Ballinhassig Village Association in co-operation with the residents, agreed to raise the bank at the back of these affected houses to try and prevent further flooding until the flood barrier is in place.
‘A day that we thought was a long way off has arrived. The eight houses are now protected and the families can start to put their houses back together for Christmas,’ he said online.
He also thanked the Rice and Dennehy families for allowing them onto their land to complete the work, as well as Danny O’Callaghan and his team who carried out the work and also Paudie Keohane of Keohane Readymix. He also thanked Denny Finn, who became a project manager on the job.
‘The support we got has been phenomenal from day one. Without every donation no work could be done, no matter how small or big, every one of those donations counter and were vital on we getting this job done. Any remaining funds will be donated to the parish emergency fund.’
Meanwhile, Malachy Walsh and Partners have been appointed consultants following an extensive tender process. Cork County Council will manage the delivery of the flood relief scheme, in partnership with the OPW, which is funding the scheme.
County mayor Cllr Frank O’Flynn said the importance of providing flood mitigation measures to communities vulnerable to flooding could not be over emphasised. ‘I would like to thank the OPW for their ongoing commitment, funding, support for the delivery of this vital flood relief infrastructure.’
