The Maigue Rivers Trust grew out of a pilot project on the River Loobagh which was run in 2015.
The local farmers, anglers, community groups and interested individuals got together with the Inland Fisheries Ireland and Limerick City and County Council to explore a new way of looking after our rivers and lakes. They wanted to find a way that didn’t rely on regulations, but rather on the community becoming stewards of their local waterways.
Several exciting ventures came about as a result of this partnership: Physical works were undertaken in the river channel to improve the habitat for fish.
The Streamscapes education and awareness programme was delivered to local schools and community groups.
A study trip was undertaken to the Ballinderry Rivers Trust in Co. Tyrone to look at this model of river management and see if it could be applied in Ireland.
It was this trip that inspired the creation of the trust. Initially, the plan had been to form a trust on the Loobagh, but the advice from our friends in Ballinderry was that the trust should cover an area from source to sea to be really effective.
At a meeting of stakeholders from the wider Maigue Catchment which was held in Deebert House in January 2016, the decision was made to establish a trust on the River Maigue.