Errif family facing further flooding woes

Ciara Galvin

A MOTHER and son whose farms were destroyed once again by flooding last week may have to resort to renting land.
Mary Nee and her son TomΡs, sheep farmers in the Errif Valley, may now be forced to rent land to home their livestock after their farms were flooded during Storm Jonas.
During Storm Desmond last December, Ms Nee and TomΡs had to remove their animals from their sheds, as floodwaters rose to dangerous levels.
Though the water did not rise as high during Storm Jonas, Ms Nee said it reached the back of the sheds, and their land was once again badly damaged. “A lot of hay has been destroyed … we had 150 bales, but all the bottom ones are rotten,” explained Ms Nee.
Ms Nee told The Mayo News that the flood damage is now preventing them from putting sheep out on their land.
“The last three to four floods have been desperate. If it keeps going, we won’t be able to farm the land. We had flooding in August, and it’s getting worse. Something needs to be done to the Errif River, it needs to be dredged.”
Ms Nee, who has farmed in the Errif Valley for 40 years, said landslides over the past number of years have caused sand and soil to gather in the river and on their land.
‘Disheartening’
Describing the dangerous conditions in the Errif Valley during last week’s storm, Ms Nee said more should have been done to prevent unknowing drivers from travelling the roads in the area.
“We weren’t blocked by flooding from the Leenane side, but it was very close. A car was stuck back near Ashleigh [Ashleigh Falls] and my son had to go on the road to stop five or six cars coming back here.”
Ms Nee said the damage done to her and her son’s lands was ‘disheartening’.
“We had been down repairing wire and and trying to salvage some stakes, but we’re fighting a losing battle. We just don’t know where to go from here. No politician has come near us … People’s livelihoods are being lost.”
Ms Nee explained that rules regarding the river are preventing the Fisheries Board from carrying out any remedial work on the Errif until certain spawning seasons have passed.
“It’s a research river, so they can’t touch it until May. They [fish] have become more important than us.”