Fisherman’s Dues

The way we were…

he bould Jimmy Kinsella, formerly of this parish, is organising a protest at Greystones harbour over the commercial fishermen not being allowed to operate out of the town.

It won’t be the first such protest in Greystones, and it probably won’t be the last either.

Standing alongside Jimmy will be fellow fishermen Ivan Toole, Tim Storey and Peter ‘Skinner’ Ryan.

Over to Jimmy…

A protest will take place at the harbour on 11th May next. Local fishermen Ivan Toole, Tim Storey and Peter Ryan (Skinner) will be bringing their boats to the harbour to ditch their catch and protest at the refusal of Wicklow Co. Council to allow commercial fishermen to use their home port of Greystones to carry on their business from.

Greystones was always a harbour used by commercial fishermen, going back to the early nineteenth century, and my family and I, and my nephew, Ivan Toole, were among that group. Derek Mitchell and his buddy Gallagher refuse to accept these facts, despite all the history and photographs to prove.

So, I implore anyone interested to come to the protest. I will fill you in with the times ASAP.

Responding to Jimmy Kinsella’s announcement, Cllr Derek Mitchell told the Guide…

The harbour was supposed to have a place for commercial fishermen. When Bord Pleanala refused the first design the redesign eliminated that space but nobody noticed even among the 3,000 people who made submissions. The way it is constructed makes it very difficult to unload anywhere. I felt some arrangement should be made, a number were tried including laying special moorings, but none has worked out.

I know that Ivan Toole had a boat and had to leave when work started on the harbour, as he was using the harbour at that time. If facilities cannot be provided he should be compensated.

You can see how the protest went here, check out 2014’s fisherman’s protest here, read Ashley Hayden’s 2016 call for a managed marine right here, and The Ballad Of A Greystones Fisherman here.