“THE rotational traction of my bicycle wheel was abruptly compromised by a prodigious laminar of birdsh*t, which functioned as a low-friction interface posited atop the pavement substratum. I was then introduced to a curtailment of lateral stability followed by a dramatic translation of my own centre of mass. I briefly entered a microgravity event.”
This is how award-winning Limerick writer, podcaster, documentarian, and satirist Blindboy Boatclub described a recent near fall on his bike due to starling droppings on Bedford Row in the heart of Limerick City.
Far from being annoyed about the incident, the former half of comedy duo The Rubberbandits sees the phenomenon of the regular coating of the particular bird droppings on Bedford Row as a link to the city’s past. He has even, as far back as 2023, released an episode of his hit The Blindboy Podcast about the unusual scenes, which have, even more unusually, become a source of tourism for the Treaty City.
“I’m fascinated by the starlings of Bedford Row. Every evening, just as the sun gets slanty and orange, they enter into a murmuration over the River Shannon. People stop on the bridge to watch the starlings weaving mad sychronised shapes over the river. They do this to frighten off predators, the likes of hawks. When I’m trying to understand why they flock to Bedford Row, I ask myself what was there before the city?” Blindboy told the Limerick Post.
“I’ve done a fierce amount of research, by looking at old maps and biodiversity reports that were commissioned by Limerick Council about Westfields. Bedford Row was built on a riparian zone – a strip of land directly alongside a river where the soil, plants, and wildlife are shaped by regular contact with water through flooding. It’s the buffer between a river and land, nature’s sponge.”
“The Vikings loved to start settlements on riparian zones, and Limerick was no different,” he explained.
“If you look across the river from Bedford Row, down as far as Westfields and Condell Road, you’ll get an idea of what the area would have looked like a thousand years ago – a seasonally flooded forest with wetland.
“Starlings roosting in trees are actually essential to that ecosystem, and the reason is because of their sh*t. It’s a very powerful fertiliser. Riparian zones are supposed to flood, but when they do, nutrients wash away. The sh*t from a large roost of starlings is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus – nutrients that are often scarce in floodplain soils. In a natural riparian setting, these droppings would fall onto the forest floor and into wetlands, where seasonal floods would dissolve and redistribute them downstream. This nutrient input boosted plant growth, supported diverse invertebrate populations, and fuelled aquatic productivity in backwaters and channels.
“But now, that environment is all gone,” says Blindboy. “No one told the poor ould starlings.”
“They flock to about nine trees on Bedford Row, confusing it for an ancient riparian forest. They do their evening sh*ts, and instead of it fertilising the soil, it sticks to the pavement and becomes slippy. We built our city on their ancient habitat and there’s no talking to them about it.”
And as far as the pedestrian street becoming slicked as a result of the starling droppings, Blindboy isn’t the only one to fall victim. Along with other reports of falls and near misses on Bedford Row, one witness to Blindboy’s slippery situation, turning to see if he was okay, himself fell as a result and, as the podcaster puts it, “acquired a significant distribution of avian waste along his spinal axis”.
A new festival for Limerick
Limerick City and County Council cleans Bedford Row multiple times each week. Unrelated, it has also been confirmed that stone benches on the street have been removed in recent days, on account of vehicular damage over time. Despite this, Blindboy suggests the local authority could consider carrying out cleaning works earlier in the day, in keeping with the starling schedule of roosting at evening time and taking their leave before dawn.
“Even after the birdsh*t is washed away, the smell still remains and people walk down the street covering their noses. There’s environmentally friendly citrus deodorants that are used around the world for cleaning city streets and making them smell good. I think people would welcome that,” he suggests.
The well-informed writer, however, does not want to see the destruction of what he has described in his podcast as the “Birdsh*t District”. If anything, he believes the Council should capitalise on the phenomenon.
“I’d like for the city to have a seasonal ‘birdsh*t festival’, timed to the late-summer roosting peak of the Bedford Row starlings,” he told this newspaper.
“Before the Vikings, in pre-christian Ireland, when Bedford Row would have been a riparian forest, we had the Bechbretha (‘Bee Judgments’), a 7th-century Brehon Law text which set out rules for protecting bees, sharing honey, and compensating for damage, treating swarms as valuable members of the community with rights and obligations.
“In 2025, instead of treating the starlings and their sh*t purely as a nuisance, the Council could see it as a seasonal gift.
“With appropriate collection and composting to neutralise pathogens, the birdsh*t could be processed into a safe organic fertiliser for use in city planters, street trees, and community gardens. The event could combine clean-up operations with public education on urban ecology, explaining how these murmurations connect to the Shannon’s historic riparian ecosystem.
“That same mindset as the Bechbretha – balancing human needs with the ecological contributions of animals. Everyone would be happy, starling and human.”
Asked for comment by this newspaper, Limerick City and County Council said that its “festival and events team are always happy to explore new festival ideas”, including the “creative suggestion of a seasonal festival timed to the late summer”.
Regarding the larger issue on Bedford Row, the Council said that “while starling murmurations at this time of year are undeniably a striking natural phenomenon, there is an obvious impact of such large flocks of starlings roosting in the trees”.
The Council said that cleaning crews work consistently to manage “persistent fouling” on the street and street furniture on Bedford Row and Thomas Street, and conduct additional cleansing during peak roosting season.
“A hot washer system is in operation on Bedford Row and Thomas Street five days a week from 7am,” a Council statement read, adding that, periodically, a power washer unit assists using an “environmentally friendly washing method” combining high pressure and hot water, without the use of chemicals.
“We continuously research other environmentally friendly options that may be available,” the Council said.
The local authority added that it is “actively seeking long-term solutions which may include pruning of the trees to discourage roosting”.
‘It only adds to the intrigue’
Practicing what he preaches, Blindboy has been using his own platform to generate tourism for the Treaty City via the starling droppings.
A number of The Blindboy Podcast listeners have been in touch with this newspaper confirming that they have visited the city since Blindboy’s 2023 episode on the starling droppings to witness it for themselves – coming from as far as Australia, Scotland, England, Dubai, Switzerland, and Cork.
One listener, Hayley Brown, after visiting from the UK, said that Bedford Row has “become a staple pilgrimage” for Blindboy’s listeners.
Mina Stanikiċ from Switzerland said that Ireland “was never on my radar until I started listening to Blindboy’s podcast”, now “Limerick’s been on the itinerary from the get-go”.
Brothers Tom and Will Sacre, who made the trip from Australia – and got matching tattoos in honour of the Limerick man’s podcast while here too boot – told this newspaper that “Blindboy has always been very proud of Limerick, and defended it in the face of what he has always believed to be unfair criticism. While his criticism of the Birdsh*t District may seem harsh, I believe it only adds to the intrigue.”
“Having listened so long to his podcasts, we built a picture up of the place in our heads. Limerick exceeded our expectations in every single way, and Blindboy’s musings provided a beautiful subtext to the few days we spent there.
“I believe he’s demonstrated it’s okay to think so critically about the place you inhabit. It adds layers and history to a place and gives it character – just like the birds and their sh*t.”
