Last orders as truck serves up free beer for motorists

By Christy Parker

Cheers, the beer is on us. Drivers on a regional road in East Cork couldn’t believe their eyes: What appeared to be debris on the R634 between Youghal and Tallow was an estimated 1,500 cans of beer.

A delivery vehicle travelling west towards Youghal on a 20km route that crosses the Cork/Waterford boundary and meets the N72 to Fermoy had a little mishap.

About 10km from Youghal, in an area known as Ballydaniel, the truck teetered, swayed and shipped much of its load.

Shortly afterwards, in a scene that could have been scripted for the Simpsons, cars began to arrive. One for the road became dozens from the road as the greatest takeout in the history of East Cork unfolded.

Witnesses reported a min-tailback as opportunist arrivals made the most of the “free bar”. One man reportedly made use of a shovel to scoop tins of brew into his car boot.

Gardaí, however, arrived and an excavation machine moved the debris safely into a roadside ditch.

It wasn’t just normal lager either,” said one happy driver. “This was the 8% strength Tenants Super and some Polish stuff that was 7%.

One garda said: “A simple accident, nobody was hurt. But there may be a few sore heads next morning.”