No New Year relief as sewage re-emerges onto footpath in Tullamore

RESIDENTS of Callary St and Convent View in Tullamore hoping for a sewage free footpath in 2025 were disappointed on New Year's Day to see human faeces and toilet paper emerge from a manhole yet again following heavy rain.

People there hoped major works carried out on the streets in the lead-up to Christmas, including the construction of new gullies and manholes, would have alleviated the problem.

While the works did result in the floodwaters dispersing much quicker than in the past the decades old problem of sewage bubbling onto the footpath remained.

The streets – located beside the Grand Canal – have been subjected to regular flooding and associated problems for several decades.

Cllr Declan Harvey said he was contacted by residents on New Year's Day and reported the issue to Irish Water and Offaly County Council.

"While the water cleared up very quickly the remanents of sewage remained on the footpath once the water was once," outlined the Fianna Fail public representative.

"The extra gullies did a great job but at the same time the problem is still there."

Contactors were called in yet again to clear up the sewage though residents complained that faeces stil remained on the footpath after they had completed their work.

Cllr Harvey complained that Irish Water declined to work in partnership with the construction firm who were engaged on the canal greenway works to solve the issue.

"They (Irish Water) say they have a major plan to tackle the issue but I'm not aware of any timescale for it," outlined the Park Avenue based councillor.

He said the plan will involve major works such as the positioning of a new sewage pipe or pipes underneath the canal.

"Irish Water say they are going to do something but this problem has been going on for over 30 years," he added.

Cllr Harvey said residents in the area were frustrated and had obvious health concerns about sewage seeping onto the footpath.

Meanwhile, work on the greenway at Convent View from Kilbeggan Bridge is almost complete with just a railing along the bank of the canal left to be erected.

At the December meeting of Tullamore Municipal District, Cllr Harvey said he was of the belief that a cycleway was part of the original plan for the route.

Responding Senior Executive Engineer with Offaly County Council, John Connelly said: ''The original Part 8 had a shared surface for pedestrians and cyclists but this was not considered compliant with a new cycle design code and so a second part 8 was completed with a footpath for pedestrians only and with cyclists using the carriageway. There was insufficient space for a segregated cycle lane and a two way street and parallel parking. The speed limit on this street will be dropping to 30kph,'' said Mr Connelly.

The works comprise of the construction of the Grand Canal Greenway urban section through Tullamore from Convent View to Cox’s Bridge and the 28th Lock to Sragh Bridge, totalling 2.6kms.

The project is the final connecting piece of works to combine two elements of previous projects carried out by Offaly County Council - Tullamore Public Realm Enhancement scheme and the Offaly Grand Canal Greenway.

The works include widening of footpaths along the canal bank, undergrounding of cables and street enhancement, new paving and kerbs, road realignment, resurfacing and relining, traffic calming features, signage and lighting.