COLUMN: All hands on deck for Mall River clean-up

The biennial clean-up of the Mall River, or more correctly the Carrowbeg River, is underway. The river, as it flows through the centre of Westport, is not on its natural course. It has been canalised through the town as a feature.

Construction of the new route started around the early 1800s at a reported cost of £10,000 to Lord Sligo. The boulevard or Mall was planned as part of the centre-piece of Westport with wide, tree-planted streets.

It was decided to re-route the river to go straight through the town centre, away from its natural course which is north of the North Mall! During construction the river path was widened under the Fairgreen Bridge at Bridge House to allow the diverted river to flow easily, even in flood. This would cater for any water surge along the redirected route.

The river bed and river walls were constructed to support the new route from the Fairgreen Bridge through the town centre to the back of the Library where it returns to its natural course. It is a magnificent feat of engineering. Over the years during serious floods the river has reverted to its natural course, as one famous photo from the 1980s shows (water pouring out of a letterbox in a house on the North Mall!)

The sluice gates at Westport House, below Hotel Westport, play a vital role in ensuring any excess water flow can be directed quickly to the sea at the Quay. The late Lord Altamont, Jeremy Browne, of fond memory, was a marvel at ensuring flood waters were as controlled as humanly possible through these sluice gates.

The main reason for the river clean-up is simply to support the engineering marvel that the Mall is and not allow weeds and excess growth to weaken the river bed or walls. It is an exercise in practical housekeeping, nothing more and nothing less.

At the time of the canalisation only one town centre bridge existed over the river. Today there are three beautiful cut-stone bridges in the town centre, with another on the Distillery Road, and one in the Sacred Heart School grounds before you reach another, the Viaduct, now part of the Great Western Greenway along the old Westport to Achill Railway line.

The river still has brown trout and a few eels. Back then it was also graced by wild salmon. The river rises in Kinlooey Lough in Aughagower about five miles outside the town.

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Across from William Reidy’s house on the South Mall next door to McGreevy’s one can notice the cobblestone bed of the river. The river wall was open at that point and that entrance allowed horses/donkeys and carts into the river to drink and enable them to turn around in the water. That wall has now been closed up to form part of the river wall, linking it to McGreevy’s Bridge (unofficial name!)

Further down the Mall the James Street Bridge has been officially named the Doris Brothers Bridge. This links James Street (formerly Higgins Street and Newport Street) and the Newport Road. The Doris Brothers of Westport were the founders of The Mayo News in 1892. They campaigned for tenant rights and the freedom of Ireland, a tradition the paper can be justly proud of.

William Doris (1860-1926) was the Irish Parliamentary Party MP for West Mayo (1910-1918). He was imprisoned in 1881 for his Land League activities. Patrick J Doris (1866-1937) was the editor of The Mayo News. He was interned after the Easter Rising 1916 for his political activities.

Today the 400 metre long tree-lined promenade is simply called the Mall with the North and South Malls each side of the river. Beautiful Georgian buildings adorn the Mall with notable buildings like Bridge House, The Credit Union (the old Dower house for Westport House and formerly the Bank of Ireland), the Post Office, The Railway Hotel, St Mary’s Church and The Methodist Church.

Volunteers meet at 7pm every Monday at McGreevy’s Bridge to clean-up the river. It is a vital showcase of our beautiful town. All voluntary organisations and business people are welcome to assist and wade in the waters of Westport.