North Mayo community still afraid heavy rains will bring flooding
Cllr Michael Loftus welcomed emergency plan in the event of flooding in Crossmolina before completion of flood relief scheme
A north Mayo community still live in fear of their town being flooded until work on the Crossmolina Flood Relief Scheme is completed.
Crossmolina-based councillor Michael Loftus told the monthly meeting of the Ballina Municipal District that until the €34 million Crossmolina Flood Relief Scheme - which is currently under construction - is completed, people in the north Mayo town still fear that heavy winter rains will lead to flooding.
The Fianna Fáil councillor made his comments after attending a meeting in Crossmolina where members of the Mayo Fire Service along with council officials and members of the Office of Public Works discussed the emergency plan in place in the event of flooding in the town.
He welcomed the fact there is an emergency plan in place as people are still very wary of the town being flooded again.
“The event was very informative and it was great to see the relationship between the council and the OPW in relation to that.
“It [flooding] is something that we are fearful of. The scheme won't be finished for roughly another two years and we were told that we had another two winters. We went through quite a lot of the issues that we had from our previous flooding and it was a well worth exercise.
“It is something that we are very wary of and very afraid of flooding again. But at least we have a plan put in place and people would be reassured that, in the event of flooding, that all the services and all the council work will be there to assist them,” he said.
Millions of euro worth of damage was caused to businesses and property in Crossmolina in December 2015 which prompted calls for the Crossmolina Flood Relief Scheme.
The construction of the Crossmolina Flood Relief Scheme has been ongoing since March 2025 after funding of €34 million was approved with the construction phase to cost around €19 million. It is expected that the construction stage will be completed in early 2029 and will afford protection to some 73 residential and 43 business properties in Crossmolina from significant flood events.
During the meeting, Cllr Loftus also raised concerns over flooding outside a family home in Ardagh and called for the council and the OPW to deal with the problem. Theresa Durkin, the senior executive engineer with Mayo County Council said that the flooding issue in Ardagh is one of the priority applications they will be making for funding to resolve the problem.