An inquest has recently been held in Limerick, on the bodies of three seamen; and the jury gave a verdict, founded on the evidence of seamen and medical men, that the deaths had been caused by drinking the water of the Shannon, which the drainage of gas works and the common sewage had rendered poisonous. We trust that this unfortunate event, will induce the authorities of Limerick to take measures for applying sewage to the legitimate puspose of manuring the ground, instead of allowing a valuable material to go to waste, and to poison the waters of their river.
The Artizan July 1846
Irish waterways history 