Wait is over as Youghal set to get two new viewing platforms 

Plans will see the crumbling viewing area at Moll Goggin’s Corner, which has been fenced off since 2008, upgraded and platform restored at a spot closer to Youghal lighthouse

Image showing the sites of the two platforms, which Cork County Council intend to revamp, as well as the planned picnic area.

In a move certain to appease the hearts of romantics and the tourism sector alike, Cork County Council intends to restore two viewing platforms at prime scenic spots, overlooking the entrance to Youghal harbour.

The plans will see the crumbling viewing area at Moll Goggin’s Corner, which has been fenced off since 2008, upgraded.

A second scheme will see another platform restored at a spot closer to Youghal lighthouse, and adjacent to where once stood a shop and petrol station.

Legend records Moll Goggin was a broken-hearted young woman, who would stand forlorn at the spot leading to the town's front strand, in an ultimately doomed wait for the return of her sailor lover.

The council’s initial disinclination to restore the eroded structure attracted protests in the early years, but independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley continued to highlight the importance of the structure and the need to restore it to its former glory.

Go-ahead for restoration was given at this month's East Cork municipal district meeting, with Ms Linehan-Foley describing the plans as “exceeding all my expectations”.

Peter O’Donnell of Malachy Walsh & Partners engineering consultants said the current, decaying platforms sitting on eroding boulder clay atop rock, would be replaced.

Sprayed cement applied to the cliff face assisted by metal bars and mini-piles would provide long-term stability, he said.

Moll Goggin's balcony circa 1920s from The Horgan Collection

Senior architect for Cork County Council’s capital projects unit Giuilia Vallone said the architecture, environment, and heritage at both locations would be respected to the extent that the sprayed cement would be coloured to blend with the surrounding rocks.

The architect, who helped design the plinth at Béal na Bláth for the centenary of Michael Collins death, said associated street furniture would include weather-resistant “chairs at kissing distance” as a nod to tragic heroine Moll.

A diversity of plants will be added, while encasing protective railings in wood would add to the aesthetic effect, especially when viewed from underneath.

Besides being attractions in their own right, the platforms are intended to complement the nearby greenway, revamped railway station, and the beachside boardwalks.

It is further hoped they will entice visitors to gravitate towards a new, lighthouse picnic area, and onwards to the town centre.

The council expects to seek part-eight planning by the year’s end, after which it is hoped to secure funding.