Midleton protest to take place
A peaceful protest will be held in Midleton this month as residents wait with “intense anxiety” for badly-needed interim flood protection measures.
Organised by the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group, the protest takes place on 18 May, starting at 12pm in the Corabbey Car Park in the town. Participants will then walk along the main street, finishing in Market Green where a there will be a number of speeches from members of the group. Midleton was one of the worst affected areas when Storm Babet hit Cork on 18 October with water levels reaching well over a metre in places, severely damaging over 500 homes and 250 businesses.
Since then, residents and local county councillors have been calling for planning permission for the Midleton Flood Relief Scheme to be granted as soon as possible. In the meantime, residents want interim flood protection measures to be put in place to protect homes and businesses at risk of further flooding.
On 20 February, the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group presented a petition with nearly 15,000 signatures to the Dáil calling for immediate action. Its representative Caroline Leahy said there’s since been no progress in getting interim flood protection measures.
Ms Leahy said: “The Minister for the OPW, Kieran O'Donnell, said that it could be 2026 before planning permission for the Flood Relief Scheme is submitted. Back in November, we were told this would happen in Q4 2025.
“Our community has been completely left to fend for themselves in the aftermath of this flooding and everyone is living with intense anxiety when there is heavy rainfall,” she added.
Since submitting the petition, the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group has made numerous attempts to engage with local TDs.
Ms Leahy continued: “These have not been fruitful and so we felt there was no option but to escalate our campaign.”
Ms Leahy said the main goal of the protest is to highlight “the complete failure by the Local Authority, the OPW, and the Government to serve the communities across East Cork”.
Ms Leahy said: “The Minister for the OPW, Kieran O’Donnell, said that it could be 2026 before planning permission for the Flood Relief Scheme is submitted.”
She continued to explain: “Back in November, we were told this would happen in Q4 2025.
“Our community has been completely left to fend for themselves in the aftermath of this flooding and everyone is living with intense anxiety when there is heavy rainfall,” she added.
Since submitting the petition, the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group said it has made numerous attempts to engage with local TDs.
Ms Leahy continued: “These have not been fruitful and so we felt there was no option but to escalate our campaign.”
Ms Leahy said the main goal of the protest is to highlight “the complete failure by the local authority, the OPW, and the Government to serve the communities across East Cork”.
The protest is planned to start at 12pm on 18 May in the Corabbey Car Park and will head towards Main Street and finish in Market Green.