A bitter dispute has broken out over alterations being carried out to the bank of the Nore river between Inistioge and Thomastown in Co Kilkenny.
The Kilkenny Anglers' Association says the work at Brownsbarn bridge is necessary to prevent erosion of the river bank and to improve the quality of fishing.
It denies the claims of some local people that other fisheries on the river will be adversely affected and that the work, which has resulted in a new 250-metre rock face on one side of the river and the creation of a 1.3-metre deep channel, will cause flooding.
A group of residents, including some local anglers who are not members of the KAA, recently began protesting on the bridge each Sunday. Mr Eamonn Doyle, a local land-owner and spokesman for the protesters, said the bank, at one of the most picturesque spots on the river, had become "an eyesore" as a result of the work done to date.
The only people to benefit, he claimed, would be tourists who fished in the river and members of the KAA, none of whom lived in the area. Local people would do everything in their power to stop it.
However, the KAA secretary, Mr Ed Stack, said the association had been through the planning process and received approval from An Bord Pleanala.
The association had engaged the assistance of experts from the Department of the Marine and the Southern Regional Fisheries Board from the outset. It owned the fishing rights on a 1 1/2-mile stretch of river and the intention had been to improve the quality of trout-fishing.
He said there was no basis for the fear that the work would cause flooding or damage stocks on other parts of the river. Similar work had been viewed in advance on about 40 other river locations.
The rocks which appeared unsightly to some people now would be covered with overgrowth in a matter of months, he said.
Mr Doyle acknowledged that the association had planning approval for the work. Nevertheless, his group had hired a planning consultant to examine what options might be open to it to prevent any further work taking place.
Mr Stack disputed the claim that the KAA's membership of about 200 did not include local people. The club had some members from Inistioge. However, he claimed, there was a history of bad feeling towards his organisation as some local people were unhappy that it had bought the fishing rights to that part of the river in 1982.
He said that two days after the Bord Pleanala decision came through, a hut belonging to the association was burned and subsequently a chainsaw was used to destroy a wooden bridge erected over the river.
The vandalism was investigated by gardai, but no one has been charged. Mr Doyle said local people had nothing to do with the incidents and claimed they were the result of opposition by some KAA members to the current development work.
He said there was "never any hassle" between local people and the association, but he would now "have nothing more to do with them."
Mr Stack said the KAA had no apology to make for acquiring the fishing rights and was in the area to stay.
