By Lisa Ramsden
ROBBIE Marsh is a man who knows The Mournes like the back of his hand. Running an outdoor company based in the local mountain range, he said watching days and days of fires ripping through the precious habitat has been soul-destroying. It was, he adds, “like watching my house and livelihood burn.”
His comments were made last Wednesday, shortly before the Fire Service confirmed that 350 of its crew members and officers had been involved in tackling the mountain blazes, placing a huge drain on resources province-wide. Robbie, who lives in Kilkeel, shared a video online outlining the scale of the devastation as the local landscape continued to smoulder in parts and burn in others.
From Saturday 25 April, dozens of firefighters battled blazes on the mountains, with a number of the fires already determined to have been started deliberately. This continued on Friday (1 May) night, when a further fire was started on land off the Tullyree Road outside Kilcoo, destroying 10 hectares (25 acres) of land and taking seven hours to extinguish. The NI Fire and Rescue Service has confirmed this most recent incident has also been classified as “deliberate ignition.”
As it was confirmed that a worrying number of these blazes were started intentionally, Robbie admitted that, with his company based around outdoor activities in the Mournes, the fires have come as a huge blow. Having established Mourne Mountain Adventures and recently brought his son Dylan into the business, the family-run outdoor activity company organizes hiking expeditions and camping trips for groups. However, in the wake of the fires, Robbie was left with no choice but to cancel some of these events.
The local man describes the Mournes as “truly a gem,” and it is clear it is a very special place to him—not just professionally, but personally. Robbie said the blatant disregard shown by those who have started these fires is “simply shocking.” Calling for “a unified government funding scheme that will support” this community, he said that people with a genuine love of, and appreciation for, the land need more assistance, leading to “positive” outcomes for everyone.
He said staring at the charred, decimated land is “gut-wrenching,” adding he fears the land burned over the past 10 days will never fully recover. He also acknowledged that the fires, both intentional and accidental, put enormous pressure on emergency services. He took the decision to cancel further events not only on health and safety grounds, but to give the fire crews the space they needed to deal with the flames in what is a harsh environment.
“I’ve seen videos posted with people leaving comments saying they started the fires. It’s hard to get my head around,” he added. He is also hugely frustrated by what he sees as a lack of education surrounding the actual scale of the damage the fires can cause.
Living at the foot of the Mournes, he said one of the most concerning things is the amount of heather being stripped off the mountains every year as a result of fires. “Heather is really the life and soul of the Mournes as it attracts wildlife, and I have tourists asking me where all the animals are. We’ve maybe seen the destruction of, I’d suggest, at least half of the heather on the Mournes,” he added.
“I bring people to the Mournes from all over the world; everyone needs to work towards a common goal to protect them. We do a lot of work with international buyers and really promoting this area.”
