'We’ve crossed a threshold': has industrial farming contributed to Ireland’s water crisis?

A surge in milk production has reaped economic rewards, but at what cost to once-pristine rivers and estuaries?

When Barry Curtin was a young boy, he would cycle alone along the River Bride in search of a soft mossy stone on which to sit and fish. The river is a tributary of the Blackwater, which flows through Cork, Kerry and Waterford, and it has a sacred significance: its name comes from Brigid, the flame-haired pagan goddess of water. “It was an incredibly diverse place,” says Curtin. “The cleanliness of the water, the damselflies, the dippers – it was full of life.”

But Curtin, a retired teacher, hasn’t fished the river for years. He is appalled at the extent of water pollution, which he says has all but killed the rich diversity of aquatic life. “If you stand in Fermoy and look at the Blackwater at low water level, you can see the slime. There’s no doubt about it – we’ve crossed a threshold. It’s saturated with pollution.”

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