Munster Express Online

Kieran Foley reports

WATERFORD City & County Council has moved to reassure the public that the Mahon Falls remains open to the public.
A Facebook post claiming that the Mahon Falls had been “closed to hillwalkers and tourists” went viral within minutes of being posted online last Thursday.
A statement on the ‘Comeragh Mountains’ Facebook page, which is a public page with more than 800 ‘Likes’, claimed that the Mahon Falls area had been “closed to hillwalkers and tourists” and that local businesses relying on tourism were shocked at the move.
The statement included quotes which it claimed were from tourists and “a local accommodation provider”.
“Hillwalkers and other tourists will simply spend their money in other parts of Ireland where they are welcome,” the statement read.
The Facebook post went on to reference an “unauthorised development” by a local community group which it claimed was being carried out “without planning permission”.
Almost 500 comments were made on the post which was then shared more than 850 times.
Some of the angry comments contained foul language and expressed outrage at any attempts to deny access to the Mahon Falls.
On Friday last, Waterford City & County Council moved to clarify the situation, by releasing a statement which read: “Following a number of enquiries from members of the public, Waterford City & County Council wishes to confirm that public access to the car park and public walkway to the Mahon Falls area of the Comeragh Mountains, is as normal. The recently erected “NO TRESPASSING” signage has not been erected by Waterford Council and does NOT apply to the public access to Mahon Falls or to the public car parking facilities.”
The Munster Express understands that the signs were erected by a local landowner as a result of concerns over the safety of his sheep.
The signs related to surrounding lands and not the public access way or car park.
A spokesperson for the Comeragh Community Development Group (CCDG) told this newspaper that the landowner took the decision to erect signage because a small minority of visitors were allowing dogs to roam freely in the area.
“There has been an ongoing issue involving people visiting the area who are not keeping dogs on leads and there have been a number of incidents,” the spokesperson said.
“This can cause great stress to sheep, particularly during lambing season. The land in the area is in fact private property and it is thanks to the goodwill of the local landowners that people are able to enjoy walking along the Comeraghs. There was never any question of the Mahon Falls being closed.”
The spokesperson pointed out that some comments from members of the public on the ‘Comeragh Mountains’ Facebook page post, which had attempted to point out the inaccuracies of the post, were deleted.
The “unauthorised development” mentioned in the post relates to the Crough Wood Extension Walk which is an extension to the hugely popular Crough Wood Walk which begins near Mahon Bridge.
This project is being undertaken by the CCDG in accordance with planning guidelines and is currently before An Bord Pleanála.
“Once completed, the walk will be properly regulated and we have been working hand in hand with the local landowner,” the CCDG spokesperson said.
Crough Wood was featured on RTÉ’s ‘Nationwide’ in January after presenter Mary Kennedy visited the area.
Cathaoirleach of the Comeragh District Cllr Liam Brazil (FG), who lives in the area, said he hoped that the Crough Wood Extension Walk would get the go-ahead very soon.
“This will be a fantastic amenity and I would love to eventually see the Waterford Greenway linked up with the Crough Wood Walk,” he said.
Cllr Brazil said claims that the Mahon Falls had been closed were “totally untrue” and said such claims had spread like “wildfire” on social media.
He said the local landowner was protecting his livelihood by erecting such signage and pointed out that similar signs are common in many areas around the country.
However, Cllr Brazil said he visited the area yesterday (Monday) and noted that the signs had been taken down.
At the time of going to print, the ‘Comeragh Mountains’ Facebook page, which claims to be dedicated to “promoting the sustainable development of the area”, had not clarified the situation.