Should the Irish government buy Lough Neagh?

dublincc2 · 06-10-2023 10:05PM #1

Lough Neagh, Ireland’s largest lake, is dying. Algae is slowly destroying the ecosystem there. Perhaps the most surprising thing to come out of this is the fact that the lake is actually owned by a British Earl, who is putting it up for sale.

As it is private land being sold and nobody lives on the lake, it wouldn’t be a violation of the Good Friday Agreement for the state to purchase the Lough as a national asset. It wouldn’t change the constitutional situation as the lake would still be in NI and thus the UK, but it would be owned by the sovereign Irish government, kind of like how an embassy is technically sovereign territory but at the same time not.

If the government is serious about the prospect of a united Ireland (which I believe is inevitable by 2050 although probably won’t happen this decade being realistic) and also about the environment as they claim to be, we should put our money where our mouth is and take back Lough Neagh for the Irish people and ensure it is restored and cleaned up.

Seamus4life · 06-10-2023 10:13PM

I'd do it just for the devilment.

elperello · 06-10-2023 10:26PM

Reminds me of the Johnny Cash song "One Piece at a Time".

InAtFullBack · 06-10-2023 10:27PM

No, why would you 'buy' something that would be left to you in a will anyways?

igCorcaigh · 06-10-2023 10:53PM

Expropriate.

whisky_galore · 06-10-2023 10:54PM

Lol the irish government doesn't make much progress cleaning up the watercourses already under its jurisdiction, let alone running off to buy another.

blanch152 · 06-10-2023 10:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058317112/should-the-irish-government-buy-lough-neagh

Interesting idea but unworkable.

The lake isn't polluting itself, it is the activity on the land around it that is polluting it. Buying the lake won't solve the problems, may even make it worse, as angry unionist farmers increase the pollution and Ireland can do nothing about that.

pjohnson · 06-10-2023 11:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121203713#Comment_121203713

Is that a typo?

Are you really not blaming Sinn Fein?

SuperBowserWorld · 06-10-2023 11:29PM

I thought they were making the lake green so they could fill that part in on the map ?

InAtFullBack · 06-10-2023 11:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121203829#Comment_121203829

Clever use of words there!

Gregor Samsa · 07-10-2023 12:25AM

We could change its name to Lough Aye.

Ash.J.Williams · 07-10-2023 02:36AM

I feel like right wing twitter user saying this but we need to start looking after our own first😀

We're pumping nitrates like there's no tomorrow

ittakestwo · 07-10-2023 03:45AM

No point at all for the state to buy that lake. In a few years it maybe the irish states responsibility anyway.

bilbot79 · 07-10-2023 03:52AM

It would be worth it just to see the look on Jim Allisters face

dePeatrick · 07-10-2023 03:55AM

I remember readin that Lough Neagh was dead 30yrs ago…

TinyMuffin · 07-10-2023 06:03AM

Ulster says Neagh.

buy it and populate it with boat people. Catholic boat people. Help our housing crisis.

Ardillaun · 15-09-2025 01:44AM

We’re not fit to run the waterways of the South, let alone the North. What a sad litany of negligence. When are going to say enough is enough to our farmers?

Grayson · 15-09-2025 09:06AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058317112/should-the-irish-government-buy-lough-neagh

How much is it going for? I might add it to the wishlist of what I'll buy when I win the euromillions.

Francis McM · 18-09-2025 12:32PM

Tis grand as it is, SF is in control up there this past few years and is doing a grand job making the lake greener. Sure a bit of algae never did anyone any harm.

The most important thing is they are putting up Irish language signs all around the lake.

Hamsterchops · 21-09-2025 07:07AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123827518#Comment_123827518

"The most important thing is they are putting up Irish language signs all around the lake." 🤣

Or, just buy the whole of Northern Ireland.

Francis McM · 22-09-2025 11:42AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123836269#Comment_123836269

Do not think we have the money to take on the troublesome, expensive, loss making place that is N.Ireland. A place where they cannot even look after their own environment this past 4 or 5 years : look at Lough Neagh for example. We already have a national debt of, what, 230 billion, one of the highest debts in the world per head of population. And very vulnerable when the Apple tax billions etc dry up.

Let the Stormont administrator sort out the natural environment first like lough Neagh, that should be their no. 1 priority.

Ardillaun · 05-11-2025 01:23AM

So Mary Lou is very concerned about algal blooms in Lough Neagh, a problem that requires a united approach across the island, and she told Mr. Muir all about it:

Lough Neagh is a “very significant crisis” for the whole island of Ireland, Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald has said.

More money from the dastardly British was proposed:

She added: “I am very conscious of the community, of the stakeholders in and around the lough, the fishermen, the wider community, the fact that it has been very very hard on them, and we have pressed with the minister the need for a financial support package for them, and we are conscious also that ongoing work, and the scaling up of some innovative projects need to be advanced to ensure that the source of 40% of the drinking water is protected in the short and long term.

But there was not too much about what might have to change on the agricultural front. It was left to the minister to carefully dip his toe into those treacherous waters:

“The public will rightly judge us on this Programme for Government commitment, and I will be asking for backing for legislation on fines and penalties for water pollution; ending the by-ball for NI Water pollution, finalising a Climate Action Plan and agreeing an updated Nutrients Action Programme.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/government-ireland-irish-sinn-fein-agriculture-b2857567.html

itsacoolday · 05-11-2025 09:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123963645#Comment_123963645

Very concerned but what is her colleague the First Minister doing about it? Nothing as usual?

SuperBowserWorld · 05-11-2025 09:21AM

...

Ardillaun · 05-11-2025 05:55PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123963811#Comment_123963811

There’s an all-Ireland approach to this problem already. With few exceptions, politicians north and south are united on one matter - don’t offend the farmers.

elperello · 05-11-2025 06:10PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123965044#Comment_123965044

Andrew Muir isn't popular with some NI farmers at the moment.

FFA calls on NI agriculture minister to resign - Agriland.ie https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/ffa-calls-on-ni-agriculture-minister-to-resign/

Should the Irish government buy Lough Neagh?

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