THE Killarney jarvey, part of the Irish tourism scene for centuries, was yesterday barred from taking visitors to see the storied lakes and fells.
In an escalation of a long-running row between the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the jarveys, who have been refusing to attach dung-catchers to their carriages, the jarveys were prevented from entering Killarney National Park.
The NPWS acted because jarveys were not prepared to comply with an order making the dung-catchers obligatory, which came into effect on June 8th.
The jarveys staged protests outside well-known landmarks, such as Muckross House and Ross Castle, and are planning further peaceful protests today.
Their solicitor, Paul O’Donoghue, criticised the NPWS and said the action taken was not helpful.
“We were already in negotiations, had two very lengthy meetings and are anxious to engage in dialogue. I’m disappointed in the extreme that this unilateral action was taken this morning without further consultation,” he said.
“This is a very serious matter as people’s livelihoods are at stake. This is high season in Killarney; the annual races and SummerFest are going on. One wonders why it was necessary to take this action at this time.”
O’Donoghue, a member of Kerry County Council, said he is available for talks with the NPWS.
Notices were placed at entrances to the park by the NPWS, stating that only jarveys with current valid permits were allowed to enter. The NPWS said it decided to act because the jarveys did not have valid permits, which require the use of dung-catchers to operate within the park.
Up to 66 jaunting cars ply their trade under licence from the NPWS across a network of some 15km of internal roads within the park. Pat Foley, deputy regional manager of the NPWS, said several meetings had been held with the jarveys to discuss various methods of containing the dung, an issue that’s the subject of ongoing complaints by other users of the park.
Having consulted with various veterinary experts, he said the NPWS felt the safest and most effective method of dealing with the problem was with dung-catchers.
“The advice we’ve got is these devices have no risk for either the operator of the car, or the tourist, but the jarveys have refused to engage with us,” Foley said.
“We’ve carried out trials and had no problem with them [dung-catchers]. They are in use all over the world and if we thought there was any danger from them we would not be asking the jarveys to use them.”
However, a spokesman for the jarveys, Diarmuid Cronin, said they had also got advice from veterinary and equine experts who felt the devices raised health and safety issues.
He also rejected the argument that if dung-catchers could be successfully used in horse-drawn carriages in other countries, they could work effectively in Killarney.
“I’ve seen carriages in Central Park, in New York, and they operate on flat terrain. But, because of the hilly nature of the roads in Killarney National Park, the dung-catchers would rub off a horse’s back legs and could lead an animal to bolt, or generally react unpredictably,” Cronin said.
“Different horse-drawn wagons are also used in other countries. I don’t think the dung-catchers have been tried anywhere on two-wheeled carriages like we have in Killarney National Park.”
Killarney National Park has more than a million visitors a year. It contains all of the area’s principal tourist attractions, including the three lakes and Muckross House.
However, the consistent fouling of roadways with horse dung has, for many years, been a concern from environmental, aesthetic and health and safety viewpoints, according to the NPWS. In a statement, the NPWS said it continued to received numerous complaints about horse dung from visitors, but all efforts to find a resolution had failed to win the jarveys’ cooperation.
“The NPWS are prepared to allow the jarveys to re-enter the park straightaway, provided they sign the licence, collect their dung-catcher and show a firm commitment in the short term that they will subscribe to the new requirements.”
