THE first big freeze of the new year led to hazardous road conditions across West Cork with the Macroom bypass closed in both directions after a series of icy road collisions.

Delayed school openings were implemented after a Status Yellow low temperature/ice warning issued by Met Éireann combined with sleet and snow in some areas caused treacherous road conditions.

With overnight temperatures plummeting as low as minus 5, some school bus operators did not operate on Monday or Tuesday.

Rainfall which then froze led to black ice on various routes including the R586 Bandon to Enniskeane road, the R585 at Cousane and the Bandon to Timoleague Road.

Several minor road traffic collisions were reported including at Convent Hill in Bandon on Tuesday morning and at Crossbarry.

The N22 Macroom bypass was closed in both directions on Tuesday morning for the first time since it opened in 2023 as a result of a multi-vehicle road traffic collision caused by black ice.

A Cork County Council spokesperson told The Southern Star that the road surface on the N22 Macroom bypass was treated twice on Monday night but that freezing rain and sleet fell early on Tuesday morning making driving conditions treacherous.

There were no reports of any serious injuries following the multi-vehicle road traffic collision.

Cork County Council confirmed that all Priority 1 and Priority 2 routes were treated on both Sunday and Monday night and again in the morning afterwards.

‘Unfortunately, rainfall occurred early this morning (Tuesday) in some parts of the county. Some of this rainfall froze on impact due to road surfaces being significantly below freezing. This reduced the effectiveness of overnight treatments, which meant that icy patches formed even on treated roads,’ said a spokesperson.

Several civic amenity sites closed over the two days but both Macroom and Bandon reopened on Tuesday at 12pm.

Other public events and concerts were also postponed for what was the first possible big freeze of 2026.