The serious damage of flooding in Inishowen in August 2017 will be examined in a new hour-long TG4 documentary this week.
The action of Inishowen Rivers Trust (IRT) in the aftermath of the flooding is featured in Tuilte (Flood) airing on TG4 this Wednesday 21st February at 9.30pm.
‘Tuilte’ highlights recent flooding events in places like Inishowen, Belfast, Monaghan and Galway, capturing the human cost and finding out what people are doing in their local area to address the flooding issue.
40% of the population lives within 5 km of the coast, and it is estimated 70,000 Irish addresses are at risk of coastal flooding by 2050.
The film looks at how Inishowen Rivers Trust are using nature-based solutions to natural flood management as an alternative or complementary to hard engineering works to slow the flow of water through river catchments and reduce the impacts of flooding in local communities. We see volunteers from the Inishowen Rivers Trust and the Mill River Conservation Group in action on the Crana River, building a natural revetment along the riverbank as well as showcasing the leaky dam natural flood management (NFM) project in Clonmany.
Trust volunteers, Project Officer Trish Murphy, and previous trustee Tomas Lawrence of the Mill River Conservation Group, took part in filming the documentary.
Trish Murphy of the Inishowen Rivers Trust
IRT are committed to assisting the community in Clonmany to avoid future damaging floods and have partnered with the All-Ireland Rivers Trust on a new project called Buffer+. This project will extend the NFM project reach from farmland further up into the peatlands around Clonmany to help slow the flow of water. Barry McLaughlin, Peatland Restoration Project Officer, recently joined the Rivers Trust to manage Buffer+ and is interested in meeting with local landowners to discuss opportunities associated with the project.
Discussing nature based solutions in Clonmany farmland
In Ireland high intensity, short duration rainfall events have become the norm as a result of changing weather patterns. A report issued by the United Nations in 2021 highlighted the increasing risk of extreme weather and sea level rise and the need to address these issues with ambitious action.
The upcoming documentary looks at the impact that flooding has had on various communities throughout Ireland and speaks to locals in Inishowen who suffered loss and damage in the “Night of the Big Flood” in August 2017. It looks at communities that are attempting sustainable water management practices to mitigate the effects of flooding to slow the flow of water when flooding happens.
Tuilte explores the reality of flooding and climate change from the perspective of affected communities, such as Friends of Dromore in Co. Monaghan, volunteers who are active in flood mitigation efforts and experts, such as Professor Mary Bourke who is familiar with the Inishowen area, who share climate change projections and best methods for combatting increased flooding and sea level rise, including what actions we can each take to make a difference in our own area.
Tuilte was made by Dearcán Media with support from the Irish Language Broadcast Fund.
