{"id":648763,"date":"2026-08-21T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/648763\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T09:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T09:00:17","slug":"we-are-lucky-our-daughter-survived-lahinch-locals-fear-illness-from-sea-pollution-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/648763\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We are lucky our daughter survived\u2019: Lahinch locals fear illness from sea pollution \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

In August 2018, Lexi Keating took her two-year-old daughter for a swim at Lahinch<\/a> beach on the Co Clare<\/a> coast.<\/p>\n

Shortly afterwards, Lexi, who was nine months pregnant at the time, and her daughter became extremely sick. Her daughter was diagnosed with Haemolytic Uremic Syndrome, which led to acute kidney failure, and she had to be given life-saving dialysis at Temple Street Children\u2019s Hospital in Dublin.<\/p>\n

The syndrome, a severe bacterial infection caused by E.coli, is most often contracted by swimming in contaminated water or eating food containing the bacteria.<\/p>\n

While it is impossible to say conclusively where the infection came from, tests carried out on the food at Keating\u2019s house found no traces of E.coli.<\/p>\n

Official tests of the bathing water in Lahinch found elevated levels of E.coli at times during 2018, but the water always met the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s (EPA<\/a>) standard of \u201cexcellent\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eight years later, and Keating is at the centre of a community-driven project to improve the bathing and drinking water in Lahinch and across west Clare.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur entire family has been affected by our experience of E.coli and we are really very lucky that our daughter survived. It really was the push, it made us all want to raise the issue of water quality,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love Lahinch. I came here for the surf, for the lifestyle; the water is such a core part of our life and our community. For the most part, the water is good. But sometimes, as a result of many different pressures, it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

These pressures include outdated sewage treatment infrastructure, with Uisce \u00c9ireann<\/a> acknowledging that the treatment plants at Lahinch and Ennistymon need to be replaced.<\/p>\n

In 2023, there was a major fish kill in the nearby Ballymacraven river which resulted in the death of more than 2,000 fish. Uisce \u00c9ireann was fined \u20ac10,000 over this incident, which occurred downstream of its drinking water treatment facility in Ennistymon, 4km from Lahinch.<\/p>\n

Over the last three summers, a sizeable algal bloom has also been recorded on Lickeen lake, which supplies drinking water to 15,000 people in the area and empties into the ocean at Lahinch via the Ballymacraven and then Inagh rivers.<\/p>\n

As the head of the west of Ireland chapter of environmental charity the Surfrider Foundation, Keating has been conducting independent water tests at Lahinch and Spanish Point beaches as well as on the Inagh river for the past three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope is to work alongside the council [Clare County Council] and their laboratory tests. One challenge with their tests is that there is a 48-hour delay. In the meantime, the public are still accessing the beach and the public don\u2019t know what the water quality is like,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we want to do is give the people the power to make informed decisions that could have an impact on their health. We believe in the importance of the laboratory [local authority and EPA] tests but it is not enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EU bathing legislation is 20 years old and it needs to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the current legislation, local authorities are only required to test the water quality at bathing areas on four occasions each bathing season, although popular locations such as Lahinch are generally tested more frequently.<\/p>\n

They are also only required to test for two bacteria, E.coli and intestinal enterococci, with results generally taking between two and three days to be processed and publicised. <\/p>\n

The Bactiquick system used by the Surfrider Foundation tests for five types of bacteria and gives results in just 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [council] testing system is completely outdated,\u201d says Keating. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look at those additional bacterial contaminants that could potentially make people very sick. It doesn\u2019t look for chemical pollution or some of these other issues that our waterways are currently facing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only had one heavy rain event this summer so far, back in June. The local authority tested the water and their results came back as \u2018excellent\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we tested the water at the same time, and our results were off the charts. Nearly five times the amount [of bacteria] that would have been considered poor water quality and at least 20 locals who reported being sick after being in the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

The foundation\u2019s real-time water testing at Lahinch was initially funded by Atlantic Technological University Sligo as part of a research project. However, after a local crowdfunding campaign, the organisation has raised enough money to continue and grow their testing regime.<\/p>\n

The water at Lahinch beach is usually tested at least 10 times a year by Clare County Council. Indeed, since Lahinch lost its Blue Flag status earlier this year, the testing frequency has increased further.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there is growing discussion around real-time testing, public health advice and bathing water classifications must be based on validated methods and evidence, developed in consultation with the EPA and HSE,\u201d a council spokesperson says. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn parallel with our routine sampling, we apply a range of early warning and risk assessment tools including rainfall triggers and pollution risk profiling to help us anticipate issues and respond quickly on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

While each of the 11 samples taken by the council so far this year has yielded a result of \u201cexcellent\u201d, only two of the eight real-time tests have reached that mark.<\/p>\n

Angler Johnny Casey is the head of the Community Catchment Forum for the Malbay Catchment Area in west Clare. This is a pilot scheme aiming to bring various local interest groups together to tackle water quality issues.<\/p>\n

Casey, who is also a surfer, says local people know not to swim in the water at Lahinch for at least 48 hours after a major rain event, even if no water tests have been carried out.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe follow a 48-hour rule. When we know there has been heavy rain, we stay out of the water. You can see and feel when the water quality is bad. You can taste it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council are testing more than they are required to. They are taking public health very seriously. But bathing areas are only legally required to be tested four times a year; that is ridiculous. It should be four times a week.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that is beyond the scope of what we can do or what the council can do. That needs to be tackled on an EU level.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is a heavy rainfall event. By the time that [water] is tested, goes to the lab, the results are posted, you might have missed four or five days. And after four or five days, the water is probably clean again.\u201d<\/p>\n

While sewage treatment and run-off from farms is generally seen as the biggest threat to water supplies, Casey believes the clear-felling of spruce is having more of an impact in this region. He says his group is trying to bring all elements of the community together to find a collective way forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have three separate members of the IFA [Irish Farmers Association] in the group. I come from a farming background myself,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no point having everyone giving out. We need to get farmers involved, we need to have the people to work the land involved. <\/p>\n

\u201cForestry is the same. We have foresters in the group as well. Forestry is actually the main pressure point of the Malbay catchment; forestry, then farming and sewage treatment is third.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Uisce \u00c9ireann spokesperson says the organisation has invested significantly in west Clare in recent years, including developing new treatment plants at Liscannor, Kilrush and Ballyvaughan. It also spent \u20ac7.5 million to upgrade the water treatment facility in Ennistymon following the 2023 fish kill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Lahinch and Ennistymon, plans are advancing for a new wastewater treatment plant to replace ageing infrastructure dating from 1971 and 1937 respectively,\u201d the spokesperson says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis essential investment will improve wastewater treatment, enhance water quality and support the sustainable growth of both communities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In August 2018, Lexi Keating took her two-year-old daughter for a swim at Lahinch beach on the Co…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":648764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[9,10,7486,119070,18,11394,13,14,6,19,17,178211,11,12,15,16,5,7,8,446],"class_list":["post-648763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-clare","tag-clare-county-council","tag-eire","tag-environmental-protection-agency-epa","tag-featured-news","tag-featurednews","tag-headlines","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lahinch","tag-latest-news","tag-latestnews","tag-main-news","tag-mainnews","tag-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-uisce-eireann"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117132684834163414","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}