Thefts mean Cork council may close popular amenity area

Cork County Council has warned it may be forced to close a popular amenity and angling centre unless there was a halt to the theft of lifesaving equipment.

Brendan O’Gorman, the council’s senior executive engineer, raised concerns about lifebuoys being stolen at a stocked reservoir at Knockanannig, Fermoy.

The council, he advised may have no choice but to close off the leisure site which features a number of walkways.

The amenity is used for picnics and walking, and is also a significant draw for anglers. Fishing enthusiasts arrive from all over the country and from abroad. The amenity is especially popular with British coarse anglers who use it when the nearby River Blackwater is in flood.

In the last few weeks, council officials discovered life rings and ropes were being regularly stolen.

One councillor said he would not like to see the loss of such an amenity ‘due to the actions of an irresponsible few’.

Mr O’Gorman, meanwhile, described the trend as “very worrying”. He said the council did not have the staff to monitor the facility and gardaí could not patrol the amenity round-the-clock. He said there “was only one solution” if thefts continued.

Cllr Frank O’Flynn (FF) was told by officials it was not possible to install temporary CCTV cameras at the site.

Cllr Noel McCarthy (FG), who lives in Fermoy, said the solution was people who saw anybody stealing or vandalising safety equipment should immediately contact gardaí. “They should remember a life could be lost and we don’t want that to happen. And we also don’t want such a great facility lost to so many people because of the irresponsible actions of a few,” he added.

The closure warning was issued at a meeting of the county council’s Mitchelstown/Fermoy municipal committee. Committee chairman Cllr Ian Doyle (FF) said the public had to help catch those responsible.

The lifebuoys were installed some years ago amid fears swimmers could drown in the deep reservoir. Despite warning signs prohibiting swimming, youngsters regularly dive off a jetty during the summer. The jetty is to be blocked off.