A HIT and run incident in Dunmanway was not recorded on CCTV because cameras in the town were out of order, a Southern Star investigation has uncovered.

The work to get the camera system back up and running took several months to complete, a Freedom of Information Request has revealed.

The information request submitted to Cork County Council gives details of the regular communication between the council and gardaí about repair and maintenance of the cameras.

Both bodies had a disagreement last July over who was responsible for overseeing the operating system and control of the data recorded on CCTV.

Cameras in Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Dunanway were switched off as a result.

Prior to this, at a time of widespread CCTV outages in Dunmanway in 2024, Mallow-based firm ADA Security Systems was tasked with carrying out repair and maintenance of the town’s 18 cameras on the council’s behalf.

In February 2024, ADA made council officers aware that a receiver needed replacing on the mast at Dunmanway Garda Station after it was damaged in severe weather.

‘Until we replace the receiver mast, we won’t know if cameras or transmitters need replacing also,’ John Deely at ADA wrote in an email.

Gardaí raised the issue with the council in March 2024 that a total of 12 of the town’s 18 cameras weren’t working.

‘This system has been invaluable in assisting with a number of serious investigations throughout its time in use and I believe it should be repaired as a matter of urgency,’ gardaí wrote.

One of the cameras was broken after someone fired a pellet gun at it, the council documents show.

In another email from March 16th 2024, gardaí said the fact that 12 cameras were not functioning was ‘a source of concern for the station party and members of the public’.

Ahead of Ballabhuide Races at the end of July 2024 gardaí urged Cork County Council to service the town’s CCTV system, saying it ‘would be of huge benefit to the policing of not alone this event but mainstream policing in the Dunmanway area’.

They said the CCTV covering Dunmanway town and the garda station needed to be serviced.

They added that a number of cameras in Dunmanway were out of focus and that ANPR cameras were not accurately picking up all registration plates of cars passing through the town, especially at night.

As of July 31st 2024, the majority of CCTV cameras in the town were working again, except for one camera which still needed repair, the documents released under FOI show.

Dunmanway has 18 CCTV cameras, Skibbereen 14 and Clonakilty nine, according to council documents from autumn 2025.

Council officers arranged site visits with gardaí to inspect Dunmanway’s CCTV for Data Protection Impact Assessments last autumn following the dispute.

Cork County Council’s data control officer, John O’Regan, asked gardaí if cameras would be temporarily switched on for the site visits.

‘I can’t see an issue with that but I will email my contact in the National Community Relations Bureau to be 100%. We would just have to have our Telecoms man there on the respective days to provide technical assistance,’ was the Garda reply.

On September 10th last year, gardaí had a meeting with John O’Regan at County Hall about ‘several different processes that need actioning over the coming weeks to progress the applications for Community Based CCTV Schemes in Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Dunmanway’.

In an email to the council from October 14th 2025, a garda official, whose name was redacted in the council documents, asked for additional cameras for Skibbereen on the corner of Bridge Street pointing towards Ilen Street, on Upper High Street and at The Rock amenity area.

‘As we have discussed the Priority is to get the Existing Cameras Authorised and back up and running.

The possibility of additional cameras is a wish list while we are in the process. We could seek their approval and look to install when potential funding is ringfenced,’ the garda wrote.