Works to ‘break ground’ on the Greencastle Harbour Breakwater project have officially begun.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr Liam Blaney, officially opened the project on Monday last.
A ceremony was held on Monday afternoon to mark the official commencement of the project together with the unveiling of a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion.
The project represents an investment of approximately €18M in the harbour with 95% funding from the state.
Donegal County Council proposes to construct a curving rock armour breakwater to the south-west of the harbour entrance to create safer entry for all vessels including the Greencastle to Magilligan ferry.
This will reduce vulnerability of vessels within the harbour to wave climate, improve the safety and effectiveness of the harbour for all users including for tourism and leisure users availing of pontoon facilities. It will also minimise impact of the natural tidal flow through the mouth of Lough Foyle.
The community of Greencastle is dependent on the fishing industry and the marine industry in general with almost 200 people directly or indirectly employed. Greencastle is the 2nd largest white fish port in Ireland and is also home to a large inshore fleet mainly engaged in shellfish and crab, making it a key town in Ireland’s seafood sector. Greencastle has significant fishing support services including fish processing, marine engineering, boat building and net making.
Reps from Foyle and Marine Dredging, Doran Consulting, Donegal County Council and DAFM with Minister Charlie McConalouge
The investment made by Minister McConalogue in Greencastle is one of a number of investments being made by the Minister and the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in piers and harbours right around Donegal’s 1,100km of coastline. In total funding of over €27M has been awarded to marine infrastructure in the county through the Brexit Adjustment Local Authority Marine Infrastructure Programme. This coupled with co-funding of €3M from the council will support coastal and fishing communities and enable them to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.
Foyle and Marine Dredging has been appointed as the Main Contractor for the project and is collaborating with the project consultants Doran Consulting, Donegal County Council’s Piers and Harbours team as well as colleagues in the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and other stakeholders.
Commenting on the event, Minister McConalogue said “Today is an important day for the community of Greencastle and for Inishowen. The Greencastle Harbour Breakwater project has been the top of my agenda and I was delighted to unveil a commemorative plaque to mark the beginning of works on the project. It will be a game changer for Greencastle and the marine community here. I thank all those involved in the project including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Donegal County Council, Foyle and Marine Dredging and Doran Consulting and all the local harbour users and community who has worked to make this happen for many years.”
Councillor Liam Blaney commented “I thank Minister McConalogue and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine for the investment made in marine infrastructure in Greencastle and the wider county. This investment will improve the sustainability of resilience of our coastal communities going forward. I thank all involved in making this project a reality.”
Background to project
Greencastle Harbour is a commercial fishing port located in the north of the Inishowen Peninsula within Lough Foyle on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. The prevailing south-westerly winds blow directly into the harbour and this creates an almost permanent and disruptive wave motion within the harbour impacting on movement of vessels berthed while vessels entering the harbour experience difficulties at some stages of the tide.
Greencastle has a total fleet of 70 vessels and accommodates a further 20 vessels approximately from the white fish fleet from other parts of Ireland made up of a large white fish fleet, shellfish including dredging, aquaculture servicing vessels, ferry to Magilligan, Coast Guard vessel located here, Foyle Port pilot, dredging operations and marine engineering, local and visiting yachts.
Greencastle is the largest whitefish port in Donegal and second largest nationally after Castletownbere. It is also the base for a significant inshore fleet which since the cessation of mixed salmon fishing have become heavily reliant on the wild flat oyster fishery in Lough Foyle as well as brown crab and whelk outside of the oyster season. Greencastle in recent years has become home to an offshore fleet pursuing brown crab and serves a fleet of visiting vivier vessels from as far away as North Mayo.
Donegal County Council proposes to construct a curving rock armour breakwater to the south-west of the harbour entrance to create safer entry for all vessels including the Greencastle to Magilligan ferry. This will reduce vulnerability of vessels within the harbour to wave climate, improve the safety and effectiveness of the harbour for all users including for tourism and leisure users availing of pontoon facilities and will also minimize impact of the natural tidal flow through the mouth of Lough Foyle.
Foyle Fisherman’s Co-op, based at Greencastle, has the second largest Co-op in Ireland. It secured an agreement with Carrefour, the French Hypermarket chain, to supply its fresh fish, in circa 2018. While Greencastle harbour is well equipped with auction and processing facilities, as well as established transport and distribution networks, and is well placed to deal with increased landings onshore, it does not have capacity to deal with additional large vessels without the completion of the proposed breakwater. “Greencastle Harbour is a designated port that permits landings and transhipment operations of fishery products for certain UK registered Northern Ireland vessels in accordance with Article 5 (2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1005/2008.”
