Work on flood defences, worth up to €20 million, is set to commence soon in Cork, at an area infamous for serious flooding. The Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence project will shield approximately 400 city center properties with an integrated flood defence mechanism along the river Lee.
The existing defences of low walls and railings on Morrison’s Island offer minimal protection against high tides and heavy rainfall in the south channel of river Lee. When the water surpasses the quays, it starts pouring down Fr Matthew Street and floods the South Mall. Furthermore, once flood waters exceed the central median in South Mall, they begin to flow down the gentle gradient in the city center.
However, a new project backed by the OPW is poised to provide almost 1km of flood protection in the south channel over a period of 20 months. The Morrison’s Island Public Realm and Flood Defence scheme will be implemented by Meath-based Jons Civil Engineering Company Ltd. The project will also include the construction of a 3-meter-wide riverside walkway along Morrison’s Quay and Fr Mathew Quay. In addition to rerouting traffic and reducing parking, the project also plans to significantly improve conditions for pedestrians, wheelchair users, and cyclists.
There are also plans within the project to boost access to Trinity Bridge, increase public seating, renovate heritage features, and enhance them. Furthermore, the project will include the addition of 25 trees at a newly-created Parnell Plaza, as well as the addition of plants that are beneficial to pollinators.
Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, an enthusiastic local historian known for his free historical walking tours, opined that this project has the potential to transform Cork city center. He sees the Morrison’s Island scheme as an opportunity for comprehensive regeneration of this historic city section and its reorientation towards the river, highlighting architectural and heritage interest.
Though planning permission was granted to the project by An Bord Pleanála in June 2000, it was appealed in the High Court by the Save Cork City Community Association. However, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys ruled that the group hadn’t presented a compelling case to overturn the granted planning.
Save Cork City’s appeal to the Supreme Court was declined in December 2022, thereby enabling the Office of Public Works (OPW) to call for project proposals, with work set to commence within a couple of weeks. Aaron Mansworth, who is the head of the Cork Business Association (CBA), voiced his approval for the project, highlighting the fact that it will offer crucial flood defences in a region with recently noted commercial opportunities, demonstrated by Premier Inn’s transformation of the historical Moore’s Hotel site on Morrison’s Island. In Mansworth’s opinion, the project’s key importance is that it supplies the much-needed flood defences, which CBA has long pushed for. This will bring relief to business and property owners by protecting their buildings and source of income. Especially during these difficult periods, the news of forthcoming flood defences is being embraced with much positivity and appreciation.