Second Living Seawall installed in Cork Harbour
A second Living Seawall has been installed at Paddy’s Point, Ringaskiddy, building on the first installation at Kennedy Pier, Cobh, in September 2025. After one year, the Cobh installation is showing increasing colonisation by marine life, providing an opportunity to track how biodiversity develops on these novel coastal habitats.
A second Living Seawall has been installed in Cork Harbour at Paddy’s Point, Ringaskiddy, nine months after the first installation at Kennedy Pier, Cobh. The Cobh Living Seawall is now showing clear signs of marine colonisation. As expected, the installation was initially colonised by green algae, followed by the arrival of barnacles, brown fucoid algae, tube worms, crabs and winkles. At Paddy’s Point, the installation also includes an experiment to explore the role of key grazers in shaping community development. Limpets have been transplanted onto half of the installation, allowing us to investigate how these important grazers influence the trajectory of ecological succession. Together, the two installations provide an opportunity to explore how Living Seawalls develop over time and how small-scale habitat enhancements can support marine biodiversity on artificial coastal structures.
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For more on this story please contact Louise.firth@ucc.ie thank you