With autumn now firmly established, the telltale signs of the changing season are becoming increasingly evident. Mornings arrive with a sharp chill, evenings are closing in more rapidly, and temperatures are gradually beginning to fall.

Alongside the cooler conditions, another seasonal change looms on the horizon – the conclusion of daylight saving time. For many, this development brings conflicting emotions.

On the positive side, we gain an additional hour of rest when the clocks retreat – a delightful bonus, particularly as the mornings grow more bitter. However, on the negative side, earlier sundowns mean extended evenings confined indoors and gloomier journeys home.

This year, the clocks across Ireland will retreat by one hour on Sunday, October 26, signalling the conclusion of daylight saving time. The previous adjustment occurred on Sunday, March 30, when the clocks advanced by one hour.

According to timeanddate.com, sunset today occurs at 7.10pm, declining steadily to 6.54pm by next Saturday, October 4. By Sunday, October 26, the evening will grow dim even sooner, with sundowns occurring at 5.04pm – the day the clocks alter, reports the Irish Mirror.

Mobile phones and digital watches will adjust automatically on Sunday, October 26 at 2am, retreating to 1am, though conventional timepieces will require manual modification. The tradition of “falling back” was initially established to maximise the use of natural daylight.

While mornings grow brighter and provide us with an additional hour of illumination, evenings inevitably grow dim sooner, transforming our daily patterns as the season shifts. All EU member states, bar Iceland which sticks to Western European Time all year round, adjust their clocks at this time.

In 2019, the European Union voted with the possibility of putting an end to Daylight Saving Time after 2021, following a survey that revealed most people would rather not change their clocks twice annually. However, due to the Covid pandemic, this decision was postponed.

EU institutions have yet to make headway on implementing this decision, and the European Commission has stated it has no plans to present a new proposal on the matter to Parliament. Looking forward, next year will see the clocks spring forward on Sunday, March 29, and fall back on Sunday, October 25 – maintaining the familiar seasonal rhythm.

Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.

For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.

At 9.10am on last August 12th, an angler made a call to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to report a large number of dead and ailing fish on the Blackwater river close to Mallow, Co Cork.

Almost simultaneously, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) also contacted the agency to raise the alert.

The EPA dispatched inspectors to three sites on the river within the hour, kick-starting an investigation that would ultimately involve multiple government departments, public bodies and scientific, environmental and health agencies.

But it was too late. Around 42,000 fish were dead or dying. Already the trail that might have led to the cause had gone cold.

The distress that the deaths of so many fish, mostly highly valued salmon and trout, caused among anglers, environmentalists and the wider community has turned to anger and frustration since.

It seems improbable that a multi-agency investigation with experienced personnel, good local knowledge and access to sophisticated laboratory services has been unable to pinpoint the cause of death.

Yet that is the conclusion of the final report on the incident published on Thursday evening.

[ ‘We took out 450 fish in an hour’: Blackwater pollution highlights decade of poor environmental compliance ]

“The pollutant or the source that caused the fish mortalities has not been identified,” it says.

Tom Ryan, EPA director of enforcement, said afterwards: “Nobody wants to see what happened here.

“This is a terrible, devastating event in a protected water and it is intolerable.

“If we could find the culprit for this, if it’s in our jurisdiction, we certainly would be holding them to account.”

The “culprit”, he believes, could be “something one-off, possible sinister or criminal in nature – or reckless”.

He was thinking of something dumped, washed out or allowed to spill into the river. It was fast-acting and, unfortunately for testers, equally fast to disappear.

The chances of identifying it were already slim when the investigation began.

Marine Institute analysis points to the fish encountering some sort of pollutant on August 5th or 6th – yet no testing of water, fish or potential industrial or wastewater pollution sources was organised before August 12th.

Dead fish were spotted on August 9th, but Inland Fisheries Ireland, the EPA, Uisce Éireann and Cork County Council say they were only notified between August 11th-12th.

There is no single point of contact for a member of the public to call so all relevant agencies can hear and respond.

“Can all these arrangements be improved? Can we learn from this? Of course,” Dr Ryan said. “But reaction is one thing, prevention is what’s key.”

Responsibility for pollution prevention resides in different jurisdictions, however.

The EPA licences large industries and wastewater facilities and polices the pollution they can legally undertake.

County councils permit smaller businesses and are responsible for farm inspections.

Water quality monitoring comes under multiple agencies. Enforcement of standards and regulations is convoluted.

Several licensed operators were non-compliant at the time of the fish kill, including repeat offender, North Cork Creameries, although their breaches were found not to have caused the incident.

Dr Elaine McGoff of the Sustainable Water Network said a shake-up in regulatory authorities was needed.

“There should at least be a 24-hour emergency hotline that gets inspectors on the ground immediately something happens,” she said. “Some big polluter is out there breathing a big sigh of relief.”

Bob Seward of the Angling Council of Ireland said the final report could not be last word on the issue.

“It’s not finished as far as we are concerned. There needs to be lessons learned. There needs to be an evaluation of the processes – for protection and response. This is fire brigade stuff.”