Parent’s warning over Myrtleville ‘suction hole’

A YOUNG boy slipped into a hole and disappeared up to his neck while walking on Myrtleville beach with his family last weekend.

The unexpected and potentially serious incident happened on Saturday and the boy’s dad shared his six-year-old’s ordeal on the Carrigaline Notice Board on Facebook.

The initial reaction was relief that the youngster was unharmed – he climbed straight back out – but it prompted concern that it may happen again to walkers or dogs.

Some comments mentioned the possibility of a pipe running along the beach designed to carry water from roadside drains.

But others commenting on the Facebook page felt it may be a natural spring. Local swimmer Jess Burke told The Southern Star that she sank up to her ankles in it, when she walked near it after heavy rain, and that this is the worst she has ever seen it.

Fianna Fáil Carrigaline Cllr Audrey Buckley said she had never heard of a stormwater pipe running under the beach.

‘I go to Myrtleville a lot and to the best of my knowledge I’ve never heard of a pipe. I understand that there’s a natural run-off for rainwater, which you can see when you go down the steps, and you’ll see that it’s different every time,’ she said.

Cllr Buckley said she felt the hole was possibly some sort of a naturally occurring spring and that Cork County Council confirmed this theory, when she contacted them for clarity.

Jess Kelly suggested a sign warning parents or pet owners might be helpful, but added it doesn’t seem to be an issue in the summer.

Commentators on another page, the Crosshaven Notice Board, suggested the pipe may be the cause of the unusual effect but there was general agreement that the hole is potentially dangerous to children and pets.