Inland and Coastal is proud to have played a key role in Ireland’s first-ever “Living Sea Wall”, a pioneering project designed to enhance marine biodiversity and improve water quality in Cobh Harbour.
Developed in collaboration with the UCC Sustainability Unit, Research Ireland, and the Port of Cork, the Living Seawall at Kennedy Pier combines innovative coastal engineering with ecological design to create a structure that supports marine life while strengthening the harbour’s quay wall.
Engineering for Ecology
The project team retrofitted a section of the existing quay wall with a series of specially designed precast concrete panels manufactured by Inland and Coastal. Five different panel types were created, each featuring a unique pattern of cups, ridges, depressions, and holes—all intended to provide habitat, shelter, and feeding opportunities for a wide variety of marine species.
When the tide comes in, the cup-shaped features retain water to form small rockpools, while panels with holes and textured surfaces offer refuge and attachment points for organisms such as crabs, sea anemones, limpets, barnacles, and marine algae.
Bringing the Harbour to Life
According to Dr. Louise Firth, Senior Lecturer in Marine Ecology at University College Cork, a collaborating partner with the Living Seawall project the wall is already showing signs of success.
“One month on from installing the panels, we’re seeing a little bit of green film forming,” she said. “Come next spring, we expect increased colonisation and big differences by summer.”
By providing microhabitats and retaining water at low tide, the wall encourages biodiversity in an area that would otherwise be inhospitable to many marine species. As seaweeds and sponges grow, they’ll naturally produce oxygen and filter the water, improving overall water quality and supporting the broader ecosystem.
A Global Initiative, Locally Applied
The Living Seawall concept is part of a global scientific program that began in Sydney, Australia, and is now being adapted to different coastal environments around the world. The Cobh installation is among the first ten worldwide, and the very first in Ireland.
Dr. Firth noted that Cobh was an ideal location due to its saline waters and public visibility. “It’s a great place to raise awareness and educate people about marine life,” she explained. “We hope this project will inspire more installations around the country.”
Building for the Future
For Inland and Coastal, the Living Seawall project showcases how innovative coastal infrastructure can coexist with nature, blending durable engineering with environmental stewardship. By helping to make space for nature along Ireland’s urbanised shorelines, the company continues to demonstrate its commitment to sustainable marine and civil engineering solutions.
“This initiative invites us to see seawalls not just as infrastructure, but as spaces where marine life, creativity and community awareness can flourish together” says Jon Challis of Inland and Costal.
