Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 2714Pollution (breach of section 171, Fisheries Consolidation Act 1959) · Co. Cork · 9 Jun 2024

Uisce Éireann fined €3,500 for fish kill on River Allow, Co Cork

Uisce Éireann was convicted and fined €3,500 at Mallow District Court for permitting polyaluminium chloride to enter the River Allow at Freemount near Kanturk on 9 June 2024, killing tens of thousands of fish over an 8km stretch.

  1. Reportednot reported
  2. Arrestednot reported
  3. Chargednot reported
  4. In courtnot reported
  5. Verdictnot reported
  6. Sentenced16 Dec
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
20 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatThousands more dead fish were found at Kilberrihert Bridge, 2km downstream (irishtimes.com)
  • whatRocks 10m downstream of the drain had been bleached grey by the chemical (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe pollution continued for 8km until diluted by water from smaller tributaries (irishtimes.com)
  • whatAll fish life including salmon, trout, eels and lamprey was killed over the 8km stretch (irishtimes.com)
  • whatTens of thousands of fish died after the pollutant affected their respiratory function (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe pollution incident occurred on the Allow river at Freemount near Kanturk, Co Cork (irishtimes.com)
  • whereThe Allow is a tributary of the Blackwater (irishtimes.com)
  • whenThe spill occurred on 9 June 2024 (irishtimes.com)
  • causeThe spillage occurred from a pipe carrying polyaluminium chloride from a bulk tank to a day tank (irishtimes.com)
  • causeThe bulk storage tank was protected by a bund but there was no such protection around the pipe work (irishtimes.com)
  • causeThe spillage seeped into a drain which entered the Allow river (irishtimes.com)
  • causeBuild up of pressure in the pipe appeared to have led to it overheating and rupturing (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationIFI officer Andrew Gillespie was alerted by Cork County Council staff on 9 June and inspected the damage (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationWater samples upstream showed no contamination while downstream samples showed big concentrations of the chemical (irishtimes.com)
  • chargeThe offence was contrary to section 171 of the Fisheries Consolidation Act 1959 (irishtimes.com)
  • courtThe prosecution was brought by Inland Fisheries Ireland at Mallow District Court (irishtimes.com)
  • courtThe maximum penalty for the offences was a fine of €5,000 (irishtimes.com)
  • sentenceUisce Éireann was convicted and fined €3,500 (irishtimes.com)
  • otherUisce Éireann had no previous convictions for the Freemount plant but had 18 convictions for similar offences nationally (irishtimes.com)
  • otherRemedial measures were carried out and Uisce Éireann consulted with the EPA and started a review of chemical management (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 16 Dec2024
    Sentencedirishtimes.com, first report
    Uisce Éireann fined €3,500 for incident that killed tens of thousands of fish in Co Cork

    Reports the guilty plea, conviction and sentencing of Uisce Éireann for the chemical spill that killed tens of thousands of fish on the River Allow.