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# Liffey salmon project could have upstream benefits for kayaking and canoeing, Fingal councillors told
- URL: https://www.dublininquirer.com/liffey-salmon-project-could-have-upstream-benefits-for-kayaking-and-canoeing-fingal-councillors-told/
- Published: 2026-11-13T00:49:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-13T00:49:27.000Z
- Description: Public consultations are planned, with meetings in the Lucan Spa Hotel at 7pm on 1 December, and the West County Hotel, Chapelizod at 7pm on 3 December.
- Author: Eoin Glackin
- Tags: waterways, City Desk, environment, Fingal, biodiversity, sport, Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

A project to alter seven weirs along the lower River Liffey could also open it up for more kayaking and canoeing, Fingal County Council's biodiversity officer told councillors last week.

The Liffey Salmon Migration Barrier Project is, first off, to help salmon migrate upstream, amid warnings that the species could disappear from the river within a decade.

But Hans Vissersaid the council is also working with a specialist designer from Britain to see how changes to the weirs could benefit people who use the river for recreation.

That includes keeping the existing canoe slalom course at [St Catherine's Park](https://www.fingal.ie/directory/amenities/parks/st-catherines-park?ref=dublininquirer.com) and examining whether similar facilities could be developed at Palmerstown.

“The whole idea, I suppose, is that the weirs, like whatever alterations are made, is that it kind of will actually benefit kayakers, for example, it will benefit canoeists,” Visser told the members of Fingal's Blanchardstown-Mulhuddart/Castleknock/Ongar Area Committee on 5 November.

[Councils plan to clear paths through weirs on the Liffey to help revive fishThe barriers “block migratory fish species from accessing most of the river and degrade/impound the habitat they need to complete their life cycles”.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/78/9f782dda-9dc9-44d1-b817-fe80588bdc76/content/images/icon/Favicon-2-070b943f-58a0-4c45-9a70-cfc3d4aec418.jpg)Dublin InQuirerSunni Bean![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9f/78/9f782dda-9dc9-44d1-b817-fe80588bdc76/content/images/thumbnail/1000023333-1-83585298-59ee-449f-b506-85479c5e3624.jpg)](https://www.dublininquirer.com/councils-plan-to-remove-or-modify-weirs-on-the-river-liffey-to-help-revive-fish-populations/)

## Protecting canoeing and kayaking

Local councillors had asked what the proposed alterations would mean for people who use the Liffey.

How would the transformed weirs look, given that people enjoy visiting them and meditating on the salmon as they attempt to leap upstream, said Councillor Ellen Troy of Aontú.

Breda Hanaphy, a Sinn Féin councillor, said her sons would canoe down the weir at Lucan. Could some of those facilities be kept?

Precise changes are still to be decided, said Visser.

Options under consideration include removing weirs entirely, partially removing them, installing rock ramps that allow fish to swim gradually between different water levels, or building bypass channels around existing structures.

The council previously built a bypass channel around a barrier on the Ward River in Swords.

However, Visser said, the Liffey designs would have to take account of the river's recreational uses. A British specialist designer with experience of similar projects is advising the team, he said.

The slalom course at St Catherine's Park could stay, he said, while the project could also provide opportunities to improve canoeing conditions elsewhere.

He acknowledged that some users were worried about losing facilities.

"We've spoken to a lot of the kayakers already, and they're definitely concerned, like, 'Oh, we will lose everything,'" he said.

But the council wants to design with those concerns in mind, he said, rather than simply accept the loss of existing uses.

Consultants are drawing up images of the proposed alterations, so people can see what each weir would look like and how they could continue to use the river, he said.

Those designs are expected to be published next year. “We're sort of in the collecting information stage,” Visser said.

## Salmon numbers collapsing

The project is being driven by a sharp decline in the Liffey's Atlantic salmon population.

The number of wild salmon returning to Ireland has fallen from over 1 million annually during the 1970s to fewer than 200,000 in recent years, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment [said](https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/press-releases/minister-dooley-launches-public-consultation-on-future-management-and-recovery-of-irelands-wild-atlantic-salmon/?ref=dublininquirer.com) in October. 

Visser told councillors that just 171 salmon were recorded by the Islandbridge “fish counter” last year. That's down from 337 in 2010, according to a [report](https://www.fisheriesireland.ie/sites/default/files/migrated/docman/IFI%20Consolidated%20Fish%20Counter%20Summary%20Report%202020.pdf?ref=dublininquirer.com) from Inland Fisheries Ireland.

If that trend continues, salmon could disappear entirely from the Liffey within the next decade, Visser warned.

While the Liffey's weirs cannot take all the blame for depleting numbers, they do add a series of obstacles for the fish as they travel upstream to spawn.

Visser said fish can become exhausted attempting to cross the barriers, while predators gather below them. 

“We have seals at the moment on the Liffey at Islandbridge all the way up to Lucan, and they are just waiting for all the fish, waiting at the bottom of those weirs and eating them up,” he said.

The weirs also slow the river, allowing stretches of water to become warmer during hot weather, reducing oxygen levels, he said.

Many of those weirs were originally built to supply water to mills, most of which have long since disappeared, he said.

The project is examining barriers at Islandbridge, Chapelizod, Palmerstown, Wren's Nest and Lucan, as well as weirs around St Catherine's Park.

Fingal is leading the work alongside Dublin City Council, South Dublin County Council, Inland Fisheries Ireland and other organisations.

Inland Fisheries Ireland is funding the study through its national barrier mitigation programme, he said.

## Catching feedback

Councillors broadly welcomed the project but stressed that alterations to the historic weirs could prove controversial.

CouncillorTed Leddy of Fine Gaelsaid residents around Lucan and the Liffey Valley were protective of the river and might be alarmed by the prospect of construction machinery working in it.

"I think it's a great project and a worthy project," he said, but warned that public consultation would be essential.

Informal public consultations are planned, with meetings in the Lucan Spa Hotel at 7pm on 1 December, and the West County Hotel, Chapelizod at 7pm on 3 December. 

Visser said the council wanted to hear from anglers, swimmers, kayakers, canoeists and other river users before deciding on designs. “Just to kind of understand how they use the river and how our project might impact on them.”

A planning application is envisaged towards the end of 2027.

*Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.*