Louth County Council issue beach warning

Templetown Beach

Due to the bad weather forecast over the weekend Louth County Council has issued warnings about all of its beaches asking the public not to bath in the water.

Their notice read: “Due to the forecasted bad weather over the weekend Louth County Council have placed prior warning notices at all of the beaches. The notices advise bathers that there could be elevated bacteria readings in the water due to heavy rainfall. Notices will be posted at each of the four bathing waters on Friday 17th July. Sampling will resume on Monday 20th as per monitoring calendar. Further advice will issue as required.”

 

Gyles’ Quay beach in the sunshine

We’ve been spoilt in this area of late with some wonderful aerial shots of the town and its surroundings.

Talk of the Town stumbled upon another today with this superb picture of the beach in Gyles’ Quay, as captured by PAK Aerial Media on Easter Monday.

Check out more of their work at www.pakaerialmedia.co.uk

McConville’s son hits out at Adams’ comments

Gerry Adams

The son of Jean McConville, the widowed Belfast mother of 10, who was murdered in Belfast by the IRA in 1972 has criticised comments made about the case on US TV by Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.

In an interview broadcast on CBS Mr Adams denied having any role in the murder of Mrs McConville and told interviewer Scott Pelley that he never pulled a trigger, set off a bomb or ordered a death.

When pushed by Mr Pelley about the death of Mrs McConville, Mr Adams said: “That’s what happens in wars, Scott,” Mr Adams said. “That’s not [to] minimise it – that’s what American soldiers do, British soldiers do, Irish republican soldiers do – that’s what happens in every single conflict.”

Speaking to RTÉ yesterday Michael McConville was critical of the Sinn Féin leader’s comments.

“I think to be honest that Gerry Adams is a hypocrite. If this happened to an IRA family and 10 children were left orphaned, would he say the same thing?”

Addressing Mr Adams’ comment that his mother’s death was “what happens in wars,” Mr McConville said: “If this was a war then the execution and the death and the burial of our mother and the kidnap of our mother is a war crime”.

“If this had happened in any other conflict around the world people would have been brought to justice for war crimes,” he added.

Ms McConville’s body was discovered on Shelling Hill beach in North Louth in 2003.

Man arrested over Jean McConville murder

Jean McConville with some of her 10 children prior to her abduction

A man has been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of Jean McConville in 1972.

The 73-year-old from Dunmurray was detained by detectives from the Serious Crime Branch of the PSNI this morning.

“He has been taken to the Serious Crime Suite at Antrim police station for questioning,” PSNI detective inspector Neil McGuiness said.

Several people have been detained and questioned this year in connection with the murder – the most high profile being Sinn Féin president and local TD Gerry Adams. Mr Adams (65) was released in May without charge after four days in police custody.

Mrs McConville was dragged, screaming, away from her children in the Divis flats in west Belfast by a gang of up to 12 men and women after being wrongly accused of informing to the security forces.

The 37-year-old widow was interrogated, shot in the back of the head and then secretly buried – becoming one of the ‘Disappeared’ victims of the Troubles. Her body was not found until 2003 on a beach in Shelling Hill in north Louth, 50 miles from her home.

No swim warning lifted at Louth beaches

Templetown Beach

Louth County Council yesterday evening lifted the Bathing Prohibitation Notice that had been affecting the water quality at Clogherhead, Templetown and Shelling Hill beaches.

Poor water quality had resulted in a no swim warning being issued but the local authority insists it is now safe to return to the water.

No swim warning issued for Clogherhead and Templetown beaches

Templetown Beach

The water quality problem that had been affecting beaches in Dublin and Meath is now affecting coastal areas of Co Louth.

Louth County Council chief executive Joan Martin issued a notice to local councillors yesterday evening to say that poor water quality results for Clogherhead and Templetown had resulted in Bathing Prohibitation Notices being issued.

Shelling Hill is also affected by the water quality.

This means that members of the public are asked not to enter the water at these three locations until further notice.

Sharkey calls for removal of rotting seaweed at Blackrock beach

Cllr Tomás Sharkey

Sinn Féin councillor Tomás Sharkey has called on Louth County Council to remove rotting seaweed from Blackrock beach.

The area has been attracting hundreds of people in recent weeks due to the ongoing good weather. However, the attractiveness of the area is being affected and Cllr Sharkey feels the local authority needs to take action.

He told LMFM that every few years there is a build up of seaweed on the beach, which starts to rot before the next strong tide carries it away.

He said the smell from the seaweed is very strong and takes away from the amenity of the area.

Bettystown beach given the all clear

Bettystown beach has been given the all clear by Meath County Council for bathers to return to its waters.

The council had issued a warning earlier in the week warning people not to swim at the beach due to an increase in the levels of bacteria found in the bathing water.

However, latest results show the water samples are all clear with the council giving a commitment to continue testing the water on a regular basis to ensure it remains safe.

Then and now at Blackrock beach

Mark Quigley has been busy working on his Then/Now project for the past few weeks and months and here’s another stunning shot from Blackrock beach – a location that is sure to be getting a lot of attention at present during the hot weather.

In the shot, Mark captures the current facade of Main Street, coupled with an old shot of the water with a boat coming in to shore.

Check out more of Mark’s work here.

Bathers urged to avoid swimming at Bettystown beach

Those availing of the good weather in recent days have been warned not to swim at Bettystown Beach – a popular location for people in this area to visit.

Meath County Council have posted a notice on their website stating that bathers are advised not to swim at the beach due to an increase in the levels of bacteria found in a bathing water sample taken on Monday.

According to the council and the EPA:

To reduce the risk of illness, beach users should take the following precautions:

• Avoid swallowing or splashing water
• Wash your hands before handling food
• Avoid swimming with an open cut or wound
• Avoid swimming if you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system.

Higher levels of bacteria are usually short-lived and most bathers are unlikely to experience any illness.

For further information contact Meath County Council’s Environment Section on 046-9097200.