No ‘closure’ for local residents affected by sinkhole detour

THERE are no immediate plans to re-open the road containing the massive sinkhole in Allihies.

Responding to a query from The Southern Star this week, Cork County Council said the road ‘will remain as a cul-de-sac for the foreseeable future’.

The road was closed in October after the massive hole, the second in recent years, appeared on a small rural road and the area had to be fenced off.

‘Cork County Council has requested advice and assistance from the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, and Council staff have met with them on site. We are also endeavouring to establish ownership of the mine,’ added the Council this week.

Tadhg O’Sullivan of the Allihies Copper Mine Museum told The Southern Star that the hole was the second sinkhole to appear in Allihies in the past few years, and the previous one is in a field in nearby Kealogue, but it is securely fenced off.

The local authority has also issued a warning, advising people to stay well clear of the latest cave-in which is believed to be part of the massive Allihies copper mines complex running underneath major sections of the Allihies countryside.