Laois town gets €80,000 to combat flooding as wait drags on for €20m project

Mountmellick has been approved funding for minor flood works

Published 5th Aug 2026, 12:35 BST The N80 road in Mountmellick flooded following heavy rainfall in November 2025. Photo: Leinster Express. Mountmellick has been approved funding for minor flood works Sign up to our Laois Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Laois Live within your account.

The OPW has approved funding of €78,737 for minor flood works in a Laois town with a long history of severe flooding .

Laois County Council ’s application for funding under the OPW’s Minor Flood Mitigation Works and Coastal Protection Scheme has been approved for Mountmellick .

The funding of €78,737 will go towards conducting remedial works on a retaining wall located on Manor Road in Mountmellick. This area is prone to flooding due to a river running alongside the wall.

Laois County Council applied for the funding after the existing wall on Manor Road collapsed during one of the most recent flood events in Mountmellick.

Commenting on the announcement, Laois County Council said: “The grant is very welcome and will enable the necessary repair works, due to commence shortly.”

The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to Local Authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas.

The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short time frame.

These minor works are set against the backdrop of the more significant Mountmellick Flood Relief Scheme, which is currently awaiting approval from An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Liam O’Neill’s rise to GAA President was 30 years in the making With the town prone to extensive flooding due to several rivers running through it such as the Barrow, Owenass, Pound, and Clontygar, the Mountmellick Flood Relief Scheme is hoped to protect the area from future flooding.

It has been almost nine years since flood defences were promised for Mountmellick after the town experienced severe flooding in November 2017 which caused millions of euros worth of damage to properties due to flood waters from the Owenass River and its tributaries.

With a budget of over €20 million, this landmark infrastructure project aims to protect over 160 properties which could be impacted by a 1 in 100 year flood. Around 90 of these properties were hit by the November 2017 flooding.

The project will comprise a series of walls and embankments along the Owenass, Clontygar, Pound and Garroon rivers, a surface water pumping station, the realignment of a length of the Clontygar, reconstruction of Owenass Bridge at the Four Roads, the provision of a demountable flood gate at Convent Bridge, the provision of eighteen culverts and the removal of vegetation.

There will be flood defence walls from Mill Bridge to Convent Bridge and a pumping station in Irishtown. Walls beside the River Owenass will be half a kilometre long and up to 3.8m tall.

A flood wall also extends along the rear of Grove Park, and downstream of Convent Bridge, beside a stream behind Davitt Road, from Owenass Bridge to Mill Bridge. There will be flood defence walls and embankments upstream of the Owenass Bridge, which will be rebuilt to let more water pass.

The planning documents for the Mountmellick Flood Relief Scheme were submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála in October 2025.

The latest movement on the planning application saw An Coimisiún Pleanála request further information on the application.