Sea Angling Ireland

I grew up in and around Whitegate and caught my first Bass from Corkbeg beach. I recently discovered the beach is now locked and I wrote to the East Cork Journal to voice my concerns. The Mayor of Whitegate replied and I replied to his reply. All of which is below. Please read and be very drunk off about the closure of this very valuable fishing resource.


The Mayor of Whitegate recently stated in your paper that a negotiated compromise has been reached regarding public access to Corkbeg strand. The owners of Whitegate refinery closed access to this strand, by means of a three meter fence, on the grounds that anti social behaviour on the strand poses a risk to the refinery. Now to enter the beach you can call to the refinery security kiosk and if the person on duty likes the look of you he’ll give you a key to the gate. I am not making this up. This is actually happening. I would very much like to make the following points.

Mr. Mayor, if you were party to these negotiations, I would like to point out that you are the mayor of Whitegate. You are not Rudi Giuliani and you have no mandate or power to negotiate away anybody’s legal rights. Every person (not just locals) in Ireland has the right to access this strand. What this Multinational oil company has done is to inhibit the rights of everyone without any sound basis to so do. Their actions are probably illegal and utterly contemptible.

The company states they have erected this fence to stop anti social elements interfering with the safe running of the refinery. Rubbish. Limerick is up to its gills in anti social elements and chemical factories, perhaps we should now put a fence around the city and some security guard could give us a loan of a key when we want to use Thomond Park?

If Conoco Phillips is worried about this they can employ security personnel to guard against such an occurrence. With the vast resources at their disposal I’m sure they can cough up a few Euros to keep the hordes of louts at bay.

Regardless of all the above this matter boils down to one thing. This company has no right whatsoever to restrict access to Corkbeg. There is a public right of way that has existed for centuries and nobody, not even a rich multinational oil company, has any right to interfere with this right. Furthermore no local politician with a Mickey Mouse title has the right to help them.




The Mayor of Whitegate, Martin E. Murray, has called for the re-opening of Corkbeg Strand for the enjoyment of the local residents, who have used the access pathway to that strand for generations, up to last year. 'I lived there for many years myself,' the Mayor of Whitegate states, before continuing...

'ConocoPhillips, Irish Refining, who own the access pathway to the strand, installed security fencing and a locked gate, a key is available, which is a tiresome procedure, sighting anti-social behaviour, lighting of fires etc. on the strand, which would compromise the safety of the refinery, its staff and local residents, that is what I am informed by the respondent Company,' said the Mayor, to an article by Mr. Ivan Archer, which appeared in the East Cork Journal recently [last week].


For the record, the Mayor states that he has written to ConocoPhillips on several occasions requesting information when access to the strand would be opened again to the public, at that time, construction work on an undersea electric cable was being installed across Cork Harbour and a temporary security fence installed. 'I did not receive any reply to my letters,' said the Mayor. 'Property owners have rights too, as above. I have visited other local beaches to have found broken bottles, cans, remains of fires etc. - a badge of honour of a few of a spoiled generation.'


He continues, 'In fairness to Mr. Archer - he has spoken out and I would be calling on the Aghada Community Council and the Whitegate Residents' Association to become more pro-active, and to write to the Company. I have found that people are slow to fight a cause. About four residents to date have approached me with regard to Corkbeg Strand - are the rest, therefore, not interested in exercising their rights?'


'However,' the Mayor concluded, 'I am renewing my appeal to ConocoPhillips, to open access to the strand to the public. The offending gate could be closed at evening time, which is a fair suggestion.'




The ongoing Corkbeg beach controversy raises many questions concerning the competing rights of big business and those of the ordinary public. There are two main issues arising, namely the Refinery’s utter contempt for long established public rights and the law they intend to use to eradicate these rights.

Prior to the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2009, one could claim a Right of Way (easement) by long usage (prescription) after 12 years continuous use. The land leading up to the beach is owned by the refinery and there is a public right of way that allows anybody, who wishes to cross the land to gain access to the state owned beach. This is a right bestowed on the public under the law that existed prior to the 2009 Act. Any person or persons claiming a prescriptive right now over lands are required to obtain a Court Order declaring the existence of the easement (right of way) and then to register the Court Order with the Property Registration Authority, as appropriate, so that all parties are on notice of the right. Under the 2009 Act such an application must be made within a period of three years from 1st of December 2009.

What this means with regard to Corkbeg is that if the right of way is not claimed and registered before the 1st of December this year, and the Refinery continues on its current course of action, it will be very difficult to stop them after this date has passed. It would be foolish to think they are unaware of the law here. I believe they are hoping that because many local people are employed in the Refinery that the local people will just roll over and do nothing. They plan to reduce access to the beach by padlocking the gate and as soon as the 1st of December passes they will shut it permanently and that will be that. Mark my words, meetings have taken place to formulate a plan on how best to close the beach to the public, without the locals realising what they’re up to.

I am pleased that the Mayor of Whitegate has started to appreciate what is actually going on here but unfortunately he has yet to grasp the full implications of what the Refinery are up to. His suggestion that the gate be closed at night is a non starter. This is very simple; the company has NO right, legal or otherwise, to interfere with our full and free enjoyment of this precious resource. This gate must come down and come down now. This is your beach the same way your garden is your garden. How would you like have to get a key from a security guard to use your garden. The whole thing is both that simple and that ridiculous.

I would also like to take issue with the Mayor of Whitegate’s assertion that the company are somehow justified in their actions due to the antisocial behaviour of some. He describes this behaviour as “a badge of honour of a few of a spoiled generation”. The mayors reasoning is that people are drinking and lighting fires on this and other beaches in the area and leaving behind broken bottles and the like. You must have a very short memory Mr. Mayor. People have been sitting around campfires having a drink since time began. Every single generation has done things they later regret and broken bottles on beaches are hardly a recent occurrence. In any case it doesn’t matter what people are up to down at the beach, this has no bearing whatsoever on the fact that the company have no right to do what they have done.