New Sea Wall at River Row survives its first test
Rock Armour
Last week and the week before they have been putting up huge boulders in the sea wall at the back of the River Row. They haven’t raised the wall but put a load of huge boulders (or Rock Amour as Martin Farren calls it) a few feet above the level of the sea wall.
Most of the gardens on the River Row were breached by the storm last January and one or two houses too. Indeed the lough was flowing down the road in the River Row just inches from the houses there.
I’d seen some guys come from a Government department in February. It seems Martin Farren had been onto Government ministers and they had seen the film taken by Don McGinley. It later appeared on RTE on a programme where the finance Minister said that something must be done.
Left It Late
I was a bit worried when the summer came and went without seeing anyone.
However, they have been here and finished our bit and are now placing ‘rock armour’ at the sea wall by the Bay Field.
There was a major test on Sunday night when the tide came to just a foot or two of the top of the sea wall and the waves were lashing against it. Indeed some spray was coming over the top. I could see waves splashing over the top of the pier from my back garden.
In The Morning
I went out in the morning to inspect it.
Not a single bit of debris or seaweed had managed to get past the new super-duper sea wall.
Martin Farren’s rock armour had protected us.
That’s just the first test though. there will be other tests this winter.
Still the wall has passed the first one.