Filmed over two years, Declan O' Mahonys film, River Runner, uncovers disturbing truths about the River Lee whose eco-system has been seriously damaged since two ESB dams went into operation in the late 1950s.

This new60-minute documentaryfeaturesthe River Leein its leafy, sun-lit days, and as itprogresses underpainterly, winter skies.However, the core subject of the film is the preciousWild Atlantic Salmon and its uncertain fate.

Two passionate Corkmen, who are the principal contributors in the film,are untiring campaigners forthe future health of the Lee. Indeed, the riverwas once known as the 'silver' Lee because of the great profusion of fish therein.

There is a moral obligation on every interested party to do whats right, says angler Alan Nolan. Like many anotherboyish passion, his angling got superseded. Some young fellows want to play for Manchester United, others want to play in a chart-topping band. Young Alan was seriously addicted to angling.

When he was a young lad, he could have gone into angling "100 per cent and nothing else would have mattered.But the reality of life kicked in - work , job, getting on with your life. So Id be a passionate angler but Id also be functioning in the real world. You couldnt stay consumed by it.

Ecologist and environmental campaignerKevin Corcoran readily concedes that declining fish stocks of wild salmon are due to multiple factors, not just to the presence reservoirs that are too deep too allow spawning. However,he claims that the ESB reservoir he stands in front of never worked properly anyway, and that it is a white elephant.

If reason had prevailed, he says, and the water had been kept down by a metre in the 1957 hydroelectric scheme, thealluvial forest,known as the Gearagh, would have been saved. Through proper development,thearea could stillbea lucrativetourist attraction.He sees possibilities for eco-fishing and refers to the many walkers who come into the Gearagh.

Comprising thousands of acres, the Gearagh forest is one of the rarest habitats in the EU. The mortardwellings, which had been builtwithsand and limein the Gearagh weredemolished with gelignite blasts. The residents did not want toleave,but they were obliged to evacuate.600-year-old oaks and 1,000 year old yew trees wereknocked down over a three-year period to make way for the flood waters of the two hydro reservoirs.

Corcoran believes that the Gearagh forest area can be recovered. The hydro scheme has had its day, and it is time to move on is his belief. Photovoltaics are the new oil wells that have even surpassed inefficient wind farms, he explains. Yet there has been progress by the Lee, he acknowledges. Originally the endeavour was was all about creating electricity at least electricity and salmon are now on the agenda.

The natural forest can be allowed to regrow, he argues, and he has faith that this will happen. However, planting new trees would only be the equivalent of human skin grafts. If the water tables are lowered, the whole Gearagh will come back, he says.

The rest is here:

River Runner: The River Lee and the Wild Atlantic Salmon