www.fotc.ie

About us - who we are, what we do...

Welcome to www.fotc.ie


This is the website of Friends of the Camac, a voluntary group

 who meet regularly to clean the Camac River and it's environs,

and improve the environment.

This website was last updated on
 26 January 2023.

Camac River Cleanup 14 January 2023.

We held our first River Camac Cleanup of 2023 on Saturday 14 January 2023, which was well attended by the usual volunteers and a few new volunteers which was great to see.  The last cleanup was way back on 12 November 2022 as the December cleanup was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.  
So there was a lot of catching up to do!

We collected 21 bags altogether, of which only 7 were General waste, 10 bags were drinks cans and plastic bottles sent for re-cycling to 
Round Towers GAA, and 4 were glass bottles which were re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bring Centre.  

That meant that 14 of the 21 bags were fully re-cycled and avoided going to landfill, which is great for the environment.

Last year we collected a total of 132.5 bags, of which 52 were general waste, 54 were drinks cans and plastic bottles, 
and. 26.5 were glass bottles.  So last year we saved 80.5 bags from going to landfill.  Well done to all our volunteers.

Continued thanks to South Dublin County Council for their assistance in our efforts.

Images of the River in full spate below.

 

Bags collected 2022

Here's a spreadsheet of the Bags we've collected in all of 2022.
By using the 3 bag system to sort out General waste, Plastic drinks bottles and cans, and finally glass bottles, we have saved 80.5 bags out of a total of 132.5 bags from going to landfill.  Check the Facebook page and website – www.fotc.ie - for more details.
Well done to all our volunteers!
This spreadsheet last updated 17/12/2022.
The next Cleanup is scheduled for 11 February 2023 - Hope to see ye there - make a note in yizzer diaries!!

Winter 2022 Newsletter - click below to download

Re-cycled rucksacks and drinks bottles

Friends of the Camac have taken delivery of the rucksacks and bottles generously funded through the South Dublin County Council's Antilitter / Anti-graffiti Initiatives. The reuseable water bottles and recycled rucksacks are being delivered to local schools this week. The design element was deliberately high so that the children would value the items. It also means something to them that the bags are made from the kinds of plastic bottles the children pick up when they participate in our community clean-up days along the River Camac in Clondalkin. 
We are also supporting the teachers in their efforts around this year's Green Flag projects i.e. global citizenship, litter and waste.
Each bag is made from 100% recycled post-consumer plastic and produced with 3.5 recycled PET bottles, so it is a real good news story. 

George Smith RIP

George Smith RIP - Picture shows George Smith's family members Reese, Anita and Georgina with the "Volunteer Ireland Certificate of Lifetime Volunteering" posthumously awarded to George at the recent Volunteer Ireland Awards Ceremony. Thanks to Tommy Keogh for the photo.

 

2022 School Art Competition

 The results are in! for the 2022 School Art Competition, who's theme was "Keep our River Camac Clean".The Competition was sponsored by SDCC Antilitter / Anti Graffiti Initiative.
 The winners details are available on the Winter Newsletter, which can now be down loaded from the home page of our website - see above.

 

2023 Calendar update

On Friday 02/12/22 Brian, Lile, Kevin and myself were in the Mills Centre, explaining to shoppers about our work on and around the Camac River and it's environment. A few promised to come to our next cleanup on the second Saturday of December which falls on the 10th, everyone welcome!

We also gave away a number of Newsletter and Camac Connections booklets and our 2023 Friends of the Camac calendars with a suggested donation of €10.

We will be there next Friday as well from 2.00 to 4.00 p.m., but if you need calendars in the meantime they are available in Mannion's Daybreak in Castle Crescent (Eircode D22 R7P3), and Delaney's (formerly Reynolds) at 11 St Brigid's Road, (Eircode D22 F890).

Thanks to these shop keepers for their assistance, and also to Sandra Crosby, Manager of The Mills Centre for accommodating us.

2023 Calendar now available.

Good news! Our popular Friends of the Camac calendar is now available at Mannions Daybreak in Castle Crescent D22 R7P3, and at Delaneys, St Brigids Road, or  by contacting us at friendsofthecamac@hotmail.com

Many thanks to Joe and Caroline Mannion, and Tony Delaney for their support, and to all our fantastic photographers and volunteers. 
The suggested donation of 10euro will help us continue to clean and preserve the River Camac and its greenway for the people of Clondalkin. Thank you!

Best regards,
The Committee
Friends of the Camac

Huge thanks to our sponsors this year, LAWPRO and South Dublin County Council 'Antilitter / Antigraffiti Initiatives'.


Bags we've collected this year

Here's a spreadsheet of the Bags we've collected so far this year.
By using the 3 bag system to sort out General waste, Plastic drinks bottles and cans, and finally glass bottles, we have saved 80.5 bags out of a total of 132.5 bags from going to landfill.  Check the Facebook page and website – www.fotc.ie - for more details.
Well done to all our volunteers!
This spreadsheet last updated 12/11/2022.
The next Cleanup is scheduled for 10 December 2022 - Hope to see ye there - make a note in yizzer diaries!!


River Clean up 11 November 2022.

Camac River Cleanup Report for 11/11/22.
On Saturday 11 November 2022 our 16 Volunteers collected a total of 15 bags made up as follows - 5 bags of glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), 5 bags of drinks cans and plastic bottles (recycled at Round Towers GAA Monastery Road), and 5 bags of general waste, plus a scooter and some broken toys for SDCC to collect.
Well done to all our volunteers.
The late George Smith's daughter Georgina told the volunteers how much George loved helping out, and that he has been nominated for an award to recognise his great service over many years to his community.
Our next scheduled River Clean up will be on the second Saturday of December which falls on 10th December.  Make a note in your diaries to join us.
Some pictures from the Cleanup are attached – thanks to Tommy Keogh and Tim O'Brien for the pictures.
 

George Smith RIP

Friends of the Camac are deeply saddened to report the death of one of our long time volunteers, George Smith, from St Killian's Park.  George was always available to help us in our efforts and was often there to help on the 'behind the scenes' work, such as wildflower planting, sluice removal, as well as the monthly river Clean Ups.  George can be seen on the right of this picture at the Wildflower / Pollinator planting a few years ago.   He was also a very active member of Clondalkin Tidy Towns, and was a role model of a dedicated local citizen trying always to improve the local environment. George was the chair of the St Killian's Residents Association keeping their estate and green space well maintained, also George was been forefront with Clondalkin Mens Shed in maintaining the St Brigids Well on Boot Rd.He will be sadly missed.
Beannacht Dé le George, suaimhneas síoraí go raibh aige.

River Clean 10/09/2022.

Report of River Clean up Saturday 10 September 2022.

In addition to our 10 regular volunteers we had an additional 16 to help us on our monthly river clean up! Many hands make light work.

We collected a total of 16.5 bags altogether made up of 3.5 bags of general waste which SDCC will collect, 2 bags of glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre bottle bank), and 11 bags of drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled at Round Towers GAA Monastery Road).

So this means that of 16.5 bags in total we were able to re-cycle 13 bags, and save them from going to landfill.

Well done everybody. Pictures to follow.

The next Clean Up day is the second Saturday of October which falls on 8th October. Make a note in your diaries and watch our website for more information.

Here's the link – www.fotc.ie


 

Wetlands Mini Clean Up.

Mini Clean up at the Wetlands 31 August 2020 by Kevin, Brian R, Gerry and Dermot. We collected 2 bags of drinks cans and plastic bottles, 1 bag of glass bottles, so only 1 bag of general waste and a kiddies pushchair for SDCC to collect. That means that 3 of the 4 bags collected went to re-cycling, not landfill. Well done everyone. 
The next scheduled River Clean up is second Saturday of September which is on 10 September. Check website for details - here's the link - www.fotc.ie

Heritage Week Camac River Walk 21/08/2022.

Pat Ging, assisted by his brother Peter, and 6 other Committee Members, led this year's Heritage Week Walk along the Camac River.  The walk started at the Civic Plaza at 3.00 p.m., and then went through the car park at the Nangor Road entrance to The Mills Shopping Centre where Pat showed diagrams of the various types of water wheels, and the need for man made ponds or reservoirs to provide water to power those wheels.  Here he also showed an aerial map from the 1950's of the paper mills showing the river and the various ponds used to supply water to the mills.  Look at the "Maps" page of the website for the names of the ponds on the river.
At the Nangor Road Bridge we looked upstream towards the Marchioness section of the river and could, on the left, see the culvert where the bypass from the Turbine Ponds re-enters the river.  Under the Nangor Road bridge the river goes underground, re-emerging at the Civic Plaza, where today's talk started.
On to Driscolls Pond, and then onto the Horses Drink bridge, where Brian Nolan explained that SDCC had cleared the overhanging trees which had caused "tunnelling" and had shaded the river bed, so no plants could photo-synthesise and provide food for the invertebrates which, in turn, provide food for small fish, frogs etc.  FOTC had installed a number of small weirs, mainly along the Cruidin stretch, to cause small pools and where the water was oxygenated as it flowed over the weirs.
We then walked along the river back past The Bend in the River (sounds like a title of a Western movie doesn't it?) where the man made walls used to re-direct the river are visible beneath the undergrowth.
The group then arrived at The Sandy Hole, a favourite bathing place for youngsters back in the day, and where Tim O'Brien briefly described the birds which can be seen along the river bank throughout the year.
The group then walked along the northern banks of the Sedimentation ponds and had a final chat before the walk and Talk ended at 
4.18 p.m. where our Chair Lile Frost thanked the 35 who attended and those who contributed to today's Walk and Talk.
She reminded the group that our monthly River Clean Up takes place on the second Saturday of the month, and all are welcome to join us for these events.
Make sure to check out our website - www.fotc.ie - where you can get the latest information about our activities and download a copy of the latest Newsletter - the Autumn 2022 version has just been printed.  We also have a Facebook page - just search for Friends of the Camac - to keep in touch.
 

River Cleanup 13 August 2022.

On Saturday 13 August 2022 our 18 volunteers collected 5 bags of general waste, 5 bags of plastic bottles and drinks cans (which were re-cycled at Round Towers GAA Club) , and 1 bag of glass bottles (which were re-cycled at The Mills Centre bottle bank). There was also a chair and various other large items.

This meant that of 11 bags collected only 5 remained for collection by South Dublin County Council, and 6 avoided going to land fill.

So well done everyone, and a big “Thank You” to our new Volunteers.

The eagle eyed among you may have noticed only 17 volunteers in the photo as one the extra volunteer

 was our photographer, Tommy Keogh.

The next cleanup is scheduled for the second Saturday of September which falls on the 10th 

– make a note in your diary to join us, and watch the website and Facebook page for updates.


Autumn 2022 Newsletter - click below to download

Thank You SDCC

Thank You 

Thank you to South Dublin County Council for their generous funding of €500 from the Community Development Fund to help Friends of the Camac with the cost of producing newsletters and the replacement of equipment.


Clean Up Saturday 09 July 2022.

On Saturday 09 July 2022 our 14 volunteers collected 3 bags of general waste, 3 bags of plastic bottles and drinks cans (which were re-cycled at Round Towers GAA Club) , and 2 bags of glass bottles (which were re-cycled at The Mills Centre bottle bank). There was also a clothes airer, some bits of timber and various other large items.

This meant that of 8 bags collected only 3 remained for collection by South Dublin County Council, and 5 avoided going to land fill.

So well done everyone, and a big “Thank You” to our new Volunteers.

The eagle eyed among you may have noticed only 13 volunteers in the photo as one volunteer arrived too late to be included in the picture.

The next cleanup is scheduled for the second Saturday of August which falls on the 13th 

– make a note in your diary to join us, and watch the website and Facebook page for updates.

 

Cleanup of 11 June 2022.

Report of the River Clean up on Saturday 11 June 202.

Thanks to all that turned out for our cleanup on Saturday last, especially our new volunteers.

The Bag count in The Community Centre was 6 bags general waste for SDCC to collect, and we recycled 7 bags drinks cans and plastic bottles to Round Towers GAA and 4 bags of glass bottles too the Bring Centre in the Mills Centre car park.

A separate team did a cleanup on the Watery Lane from Riversdale and downstream and they removed a Canvas seat on tubular frame, a large tree trunk, a very big advertising hoarding and long blue sheeting (underlay?) which were under Riverside Bridge.  They also removed 3 bikes, 2 scooters, an exercise machine, a metal gate and multiple metal bars.

It was great to welcome our new volunteers and well done everyone, hope to see you all again on next month's cleanup on the second Saturday of July which falls on the 9th July.

Thanks to Kevin, Peter, Brian & Tim for looking after the recycling.

The next River Clean up is scheduled for the second Saturday in June which fall on the 9th July.

Please note that date in your diary.  Watch our website – www.fotc.ie – and our Facebook page for updates.

 

On Friday 6th May, 2022, a ground-breaking environmental training
course for young people was held on the River Camac in Clondalkin.

Sponsored by Friends of the Camac and generously supported by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), the ‘Freshwater Detective’ course was delivered by renowned biologist and author Professor Ken Whelan. https://www.kenwhelan.info/biography/

Eleven young people, mainly TY students, from three schools, participated (Moyle Park College, Clondalkin; King’s Hospital School, Palmerstown; and Kishoge Community College, Lucan). As well as classwork, the group participated in fieldwork which involved water sampling, and recording the macroinvertebrate life in the river. Studying the minute creatures in the aquatic environment gives a window onto the quality of the water and the health of the river.

Friends of the Camac are delighted to pioneer this training with young people and hope to encourage the young environmentalists and citizen scientists of the future. (photos attached, or available from Tommy Keogh)

www.fotc.ie

Facebook: search Friends of the Camac Contact: Hon. Secretary Maria O’Connor 086 607 6452 Email: friendsofthecamac@hotmail.com Photos: Tommy Keogh 087 281 2626

 

The Monthly River Cleanup is held
on the 2nd Saturday of the month


The last Camac River Cleanup was on Saturday 11 June 2022 - 

see report and pictures above.


The next official River Clean Up will be on
Saturday 09 July 2022
depending on the COVID-19 restrictions in place at that time.
We meet at 09.45 at the Clondalkin Sports and Leisure Centre first car park nearest to the Old Nangor Road entrance -  
the Eircode is D22 E283.
Watch this space for confirmation.

The Spring 2022 newsletter is out now.

Did you know??
That we issue quarterly Newsletters and you can get an electronic version by sending us an e-mail with
"Yes" in the subject line to friendsofthecamac@hotmail.com
OR
Click on the Download button below.

09 April 2022 Clean up

16 Bags collected

On this lovely sunny spring morning our 12 volunteers collected a total of 16 bags of which 5 bags of plastic bottles and drinks cans, to be re-cycled at Round Towers GAA, 2 bag of glass bottles, to be re-cycled at the Mills Centre Bring Bank, leaving only 9 bags of general waste for SDCC to collect.  Well done to all our Volunteers.

12 March 2022 River Clean Up

On this lovely sunny spring morning our 11 volunteers collected 2 bags of plastic bottles and drinks cans, to be re-cycled at Round Towers GAA, 1 bag of glass bottles, to be re-cycled at the Mills Centre Bring Bank, leaving only 2 1/2 bags of general waste for SDCC to collect.  Well done to all our Volunteers.  Additionally 2 sluice planks were added to the Marchioness Weir and the pictures below show the effect on rising the water levels, which is vital for spawning frogs and other river life.



 

February 2022 River Clean up

As our January Clean Up was cancelled due to the high cases of COVID-19, this was our first cleanup since 11 December.  So on Saturday 12 Feb, our 23 Volunteers collected a total of 20 bags of litter, made up as follows - 4 bags of glass bottles (recycled at The Mills Centre Bring Centre), 7 bags of plastic drinks bottles and tins (recycled at Round Towers Monastery Road, and 9 bags of general waste, which SDCC will collect. Well done everybody.  Great to see so many new faces joining us for the first time.The next cleanup is scheduled for 2nd Saturday of March which falls on 12th March -please  note this in your diaries.
Picture (from Kevin Keogh) shows some of today's volunteers.

Dublin Bus Community Grant

We would like to acknowledge the grant of €1,000 from Dublin Bus from their Community Grant Scheme.  This funding has enabled us to purchase the necessary equipment needed for the clearance and maintenance of the river channel.
Such funding is vital to allow us to continue our volunteering work on the River Camac and its riparian environment.

Children's Art Competition

This year Friends of the Camac were delighted to receive lots of entries for our art competition.  The theme this year was “Life in Our Rivers”, and as you can see from the winning entries, the standard was extremely high.

We had very difficult decisions to make and wished we could give prizes to all the children who entered. We think you will agree that the winners’ artworks really capture life in our rivers and we congratulate all the children, their parents and teachers for taking part.

All winners received a €25 cash prize, a mounted copy of their artwork, and an award certificate.

Maith thú do na daltaí, do na muinteorí agus do na tuismitheoirí go lair!

Presentations were made to the Winners by Lile Frost, (Chair), and Brian Ronan (Treasurer) on 20 December 2021 at the Winners schools.  Photos of the Presentations by Tommy Keogh.

FOTC Calendar 2022 - Thanks

Sold Out!! Great news!Our Friends of the Camac 2022 Calendar has sold out!!
Many thanks to all who purchased as this is a major fund raiser for our Voluntary Organisation to help us care for our local river and it's environment.

Also, thanks to those who compiled and sold the calendar. Special thanks to Mannions and East Village, South Dublin County Council and The Mills Centre for their help in this matter.


Bramble clearance at The Marchioness

On Thursday 16 December 2021, Volunteers Brian Nolan, Adair, Dermot, Gerry and Pat tackled the brambles which were causing a logjam at The Marchioness.  The before, during and after pictures show the progress made.

 

Some Images from recent events

These pictures are from some of our recent events, The Transition years students from Colaiste Cillian helped with planting Pollinator bulbs, Work team at the sluice planks to lower the levels before the winter rains, and some images from the Information Day at the Mills Centre where we sold calendars, and handed out the Camac Connections booklets and give information out about our volunteers and their work.

 

River Cleanup Saturday 11 December 2021 - sorting rubbish pays dividends.

On Saturday 11/12/2021 our 10 volunteers collected a total of 14 bags consisting of 8 bags of general waste, 5 bags of plastic bottles and cans (which will be donated to Round Towers GAA for re-cycling), and 1 bag of glass bottles (which were re-cycled in the Mills Centre Bring Centre), along with a babies pushchair, footballs, and various bits of metal and wood.

So that just left 8 bags of general waste and other bulky items for SDCC to collect. The picture shows the volunteers who gave of their time on Saturday.  A big Thank You to them all.

The next scheduled River clean up will be on the second Saturday of January 2022, which falls on 8th January.

Annual General Meeting 2021

On Thursday 11 November our Annual General meeting was held by Zoom Videoconference.  
The Committee for the 2021 / 22 season was elected as follows - Chair = Lile Frost, Hon Secretary = Maria O'Connor, Treasurer = Brian Ronan, other Committee Members = Tommy Keogh, Kevin Keogh, Brian Nolan, Tim O'Brien. Peter Ging and Adair Cowan.  The Auditors elected were Patrick Ging and Ian Church.  A full report will be emailed to the Members shortly.

The Winter 2021 newsletter is out now.

Did you know??
That we issue quarterly Newsletters and you can get an electronic version by sending us an e-mail with
"Yes" in the subject line to friendsofthecamac@hotmail.com
OR
Click on the Download button below.
Winter 2021 Newsletter.pdf

Flood Prevention

Floods on 06 July 2021.

Here are some of Kevin Keogh's pictures of the flooding following heavy rains on 06 July 2021. It clearly shows the spillway (overflow) near the pedestrian entrance at the Fonthill Road Bridge, and the water flooding the drainage ditch between Cherrywood and the GAA fields, and where it nears the bridge at the Horses Drink. This overflow is operating exactly as it was designed to to, and diverts some water away from the Sandy Hole and wetlands area. The surplus water re-enters the river at the Horses Drink bridge.

3 men and a boat, er, a canoe actually

Thanks to Vincent O'Sullivan for his help.

Our Safety Officer, Kevin Keogh, enlisted the help of his neighbour Vincent O'Sullivan and his canoe to help clear the litter and other items washed downstream and lodged in the trees on the Big Pond.  The pictures show the Before, During, and After images. Vincent is a member of the Celbridge Paddlers Group and more information on their activities can be found on their website which is www.celbridgepaddlers.ie.  
The Third Man mentioned in the title was Patrick Ging, who helped sort and bag the rubbish collected by Vincent. SDCC plan to cut back some of the trees which are causing log jams to the flow of the river this coming autumn.

WETLAND PHOTO WINNERS APRIL 2021

The Irish Ramsar Wetlands Committee and Wetland Surveys Ireland are delighted to announce the winners of the World Wetlands Day Photo Competition for the month of April.

For more information check out - http://irishwetlands.ie/the-world-wetlands-day-photo-competition/

Congratulations to Tommy Keogh, who won 2nd place for his "calming and charismatic photo of Clondalkin Park wetland, Co. Dublin".

The Camac Connections Booklet has been published

Camac Connections Booklet -

Click on this link to view and download

https://indd.adobe.com/view/d91e039d-f6f7-4c12-b528-4a844bcb1d06


Welcome to www.fotc.ie

This is the website of Friends of the Camac, a voluntary group who meet regularly to clean the river, and improve the environment.

Our Mission Statement

Protecting, preserving and enhancing the Camac River in Clondalkin; it’s heritage, wildlife and ecosystems; for present and future generations.

White Clawed Crayfish

This image is of a native White Clawed Crayfish, a species which occurs in the Camac and is endangered due to a virus.
Careful cleaning of fishing gear and clothing can prevent it's demise.


Catching and removing Crayfish from the river is an offence under the Wildlife legislation.

Insects and Fish

Thanks to Prof. Jan-Robert Baars from the UCD School of Biology and Environment Science for the use of the images below.

Left to right - a type of Mayfly, Ephemera danica, Large Red Damselfly, Pyrrhosoma Nymphula, Trout taking insect from the water surface.

Both the adult insects and their larval stages provide food for fish in the pools and river courses.

Surveys

We arranged to have 2 surveys on the river, and they were carried out by Triturus Environmental Ltd.

They were generously funded by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPro).

1) Biodiversity Assessment of the River Camac, Clondalkin, Co. Dublin - December 2018.
2) Fisheries Assessment of the River Camac, Clondalkin, Co. Dublin - August 2019.

We have taken the advice and recommendations arising from these surveys into consideration while planning our programmes and working on the improvement of the river's water quality and on the nearby environment.

Our Sponsors - Thank You!!

As a voluntary group we depend on help, both physical in the form of boots on the ground during our clean up days (2ndSaturday of the month) and on other special projects – like wildflower planting, hedgerow maintenance and so on, and also with financial assistance to help us purchase and maintain our equipment, and cover our running costs, printing costs of the quarterly newsletters, calendar, insurance and other costs. Contact with other groups to share ideas and knowledge is also vital, and we have received a lot of invaluable advice and guidance from a large number of individuals and organisations.

In that regard we would like to say a big “Thank You” to all those individuals and groups who have helped, and continue to help, us in our efforts.

Firstly to the people of Clondalkin for their ongoing support and encouragement, and then the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), South Dublin County Council (SDCC), South Dublin Partnership, Professor Ken Whelan, Trituras Environmental Limited, Local representatives, especially the local County Councillors, Inland Fisheries Ireland, An Garda Siochana, Tower Credit Union, Bank of Ireland branch Clondalkin, Supervalu Tidy Towns, Clondalkin Tidy Towns, Clondalkin Mens Shed, Clondalkin Partnership, Clondalkin Civil Defence, Clondalkin Chamber of Commerce, Bawnogue Enterprise Centre, Bat Conservation Ireland, The Marist Brothers of Moyle Park College, Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcain, Clondalkin Leisure Centre, St Joseph's BNS, Killinarden Angling Initiative, Kilmainham and Inchicore Heritage Centre, TESCO Clondalkin, PD Visual, Four Districts Woodland Group, Ted Keane, Brendan Kneafsey, Paddy Barrett, the Ging Family, the Colley Family, the Kavanagh Family, Gaelscoil na Camoige. Paul Kavanagh, Brian McElroy Funeral Directors, Dublin Bus, Keane's Tyres Saggart, Round Towers GAA Club, CPM Sports and Social Club, Joe Mannions of Mannion's Daybreak, Castle Crescent .

Go raibh mile mile math agaibh go leir

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