Fingal hand over ‘’kid’’ friendly eCargo bike to Howth Goat Herder

Fingal County Council in partnership with service provider Bleeper, handed over a brand new eCargo bike to Howth Goat Herder, Katie Abel.

This brand new eCargo Bike will assist with the transport of essential supplies in attending to the 100 plus goats on Howth Head.

Fingal’s Walking and Cycling Officers, Emma Court and Stephen McGinn were in attendance at the official handover.

An eCargo bike is a battery power assisted pedal bike.

This specific bike has a longtail feature, which is essential for moving food and water across a variety of terrain.

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh said: ‘’ It’s brilliant to be here at the delivery of a brand new eCargo bike to our goat herder in Howth.

“It’s another step in our commitment to implementing Active Travel into our daily routines.

“Electric Cargo bikes are a fun way to cycle, as well as a great way to reduce emissions and improve your health and quality of life’’.

David Storey, Director of Services for Environment, Climate Action, Active Travel and Sport at Fingal County Council stated: ‘’ The way we are moving is changing and using an eCargo bike is a sustainable form of transport. Fingal County Council is working hard to expand our Active Travel network throughout the county.

“We are continuously improving cycling infrastructure which in turn will reduce our reliance on cars and make Active Travel priority in our communities’’.

Today over 100 Old Irish Goats call the Howth headland home, in a highly-managed project led by new Old Irish Goat Society herder, Katie Abel and supported by the Fingal County Council Biodiversity Team.

The goats are working in several small herds, that are strategically placed around the headland, where they are tasked with managing firebreaks and vegetation that could present a fuel-loaded fire risk.

Unlike modern breeds, the Old Irish Goat can thrive on a diet of wild forage, and favours gorse and bramble, thus making them ideal for conservation grazing.

The eCargo bike will be invaluable to Katie as it will be used daily, to check on the different herds, to move critical supplies such as water, feed and medicine to the various grazing locations considerably easier, whilst also being environmentally sustainable.

The Old Irish Goat Society is dedicated to the preservation of this endangered animal and are committed to demonstrating their utility and function in the landscape.

Through the herd’s work on the Howth Grazing Project, they are not only helping to preserve the landscape here, but in turn the project is helping to conserve this ancient, endangered breed.

A representative from the Old Irish Goat Society said: “As an environmental group we’re always looking at ways we can reduce our footprint, so we are delighted to add another e-bike to our project, and very grateful to Fingal County Council and Climate Action for providing the cargo bike to our project”.

The Old Irish Goat Society and Fingal Biodiversity team, who support this project, wish to thank the Department of Environment, Climate Action, Active Travel and Sport for their generosity in supplying this eCargo bike.

Katie Abel will enjoy use of this eCargo bike for 12 months. This eCargo bike has been leased by Fingal County Council and maintenance will be handled by partner Bleeper.

CEO of Bleeper, Hugh Cooney said: “Bleeper is delighted to provide this fairly unique electric cargo bike to Fingal County Council.

“It is definitely one of the most unusual use cases for a cargo bike that we’ve come across to date, but we enjoyed brainstorming a solution for the goatherd in Howth.

“The Yuba Spicy Curry+ is a longtail electric cargo bike with a total load capacity of 200kg.

“It comes with rugged off-road tyres and a reinforced frame, making ideal for navigating the paths and trails around Howth.

“The Bosch Cargo Line electric motor provides an impressive 85Nm of torque, giving the goatherd all the pulling power they’ll need to bring their supplies (and maybe the odd goat!) up and down the hills of Howth.”