Drimoleague is ‘forgotten village' due to state of roads

DRIMOLEAGUE is fast becoming West Cork’s ‘forgotten village’ despite its location on one of the main tourism arteries in the region, according to a local resident.

Fachtna Daly, who lives on the main street, says ‘you may as well be talking to the gatepost’ as trying to get a response from politicians.

‘I have spoken to more TDs and councillors than you could shake a stick at,’ said Mr Daly, who says there is now a crack on his outer wall and that every time a large truck passes, the whole building shakes.

He said that 25 years ago all the pipes in the area were replaced but the village is now waiting for Irish Water to carry out other works.

‘I have spoken to the local Council engineer but he says his hands are tied until Irish Water are finished. This year’s allocation has now been spent, so nothing will be done until at least next year.’

Mr Daly said the potholes and uneven surface on the road are now causing a lot of issues for motorists and locals alike, as well as the structural problems being caused by heavy traffic.

He said that salt spread on the road during the heavy frost of 2010 ate away at the tar, and that since then the road repairs had consisted of just patching with chips.

‘There are large fish lorries going past here with fish from Castletownbere and every time they pass, the house shakes. The glass ornaments on my windowsill start shaking,’ he said.

‘It seems to me that in every other village in West Cork, there are Council workers rushing about cleaning up, but there seems to be no-one for Drimoleague. The last man retired here about 10 years ago,’ said Mr Daly.

‘It’s like they have something against Drimoleague – we are going to have to get radical to get something done,’ he said, adding that the potholes in the road are getting bigger all the time. ‘The local Tidy Towns are very annoyed about it, too,’ he said. 

Despite contacting his local TDs and councillors, Mr Daly said that no progresss has been made. ‘There are six votes in this house but they are throwing them away at the moment.’