No landline phones on Sherkin Island since Storm Ophelia

Residents of Sherkin Island off the Cork coast have been without a landline phone service since Storm Ophelia — and have now been rebuffed after calling on the Government to consider laying broadband cable instead.

Provider Open Eir confirmed that damage to the subsea cables providing the phoneline between the mainland and the island, means households on Sherkin have been without a landline service for more than six weeks.

Islanders face a continued delay before the service is reconnected as replacement cable is still being prepared in Spain.