Council to close road near Lough Funshinagh as flood risk deepens

Roscommon County Council has announced it will close a road near Lough Funshinagh to allow temporary flood protection measures be deployed

In a statement this morning, the council said: "‘Roscommon County Council has made the decision to close the local road L-2005 at Ballagh, Co Roscommon, effective from 11am on Monday, February 19th.

"This closure is necessary to facilitate the deployment of additional temporary flood protection measures along this road, aimed at safeguarding adjacent properties from rising water levels at Lough Funshinagh."

There have been growing concerns at the impact of rising water levels at Lough Funshinagh this winter, with one house already having been abandoned and at least five others in the area at risk of flooding.

In 2021, Roscommon County Council and the Office of Public Works (OPW) initiated work on a 2.9km overflow pipe which was being constructed as a flood relief measure from Lough Funshinagh to the Shannon at Lough Ree.

This work was subsequently halted on foot of a successful High Court challenge brought by the Cork-based Friends of the Irish Environment group.