Multiple road incidents in Cork as nationwide ice warning issued

Local reports indicate that Blarney Village has been closed due to some incidents resulting from black ice

Mon, 08 Jan, 2024 - 11:42

Michelle McGlynn, Eoin English and David Forsythe

Road users are being urged to take additional care on Monday as the cold weather creates hazardous driving conditions.

A status yellow low temperature and ice warning for the whole country has been issued following a similar warning on Monday morning.

The warning will come into place at 9pm tonight and remain in place until 10am Tuesday morning.

During this period, people can expect very cold and icy conditions.

Met Éireann also has a cold weather advisory in place until Friday night, warning of sharp and severe frost, icy patches and dense fog across the country.

Gardaí are advising road users to exercise caution when travelling due to adverse weather conditions across the country.

Severe icy road conditions across Cork resulted in multiple road traffic incidents on Monday.

Temperatures plunged below freezing overnight and despite Cork City Council treating several priority routes, a rain shower at around 4am saw several roads ice over again, leading to treacherous conditions for early morning commuters.

Roads across the city’s northside were amongst the worst affected, with reports of up to eight separate minor road crashes in the Farranree area alone.

There were complaints that Farranferris Avenue, on the route to several local schools, appeared not to have been treated at all. Gardaí advised people to avoid the area for several hours.

Roads around Watergrasshill Hill and Carr’s Hill were reported to be very dangerous.

An Garda Síochána is advising road users to exercise caution when travelling today due to adverse weather conditions across the country. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Several school bus services in the Ballincollig did not operate, leaving dozens of school children stranded at bus stops.

Cork City Council’s Tramore Valley Park and its civic amenity site have been closed for the day.

Several school bus services in the Ballincollig did not operate, leaving dozens of school children stranded at bus stops.

In Blarney, the first bus of the day crashed and became stuck in icy conditions and two articulated lorries were also left stranded after skidding on back ice. Roads in the centre of the village were closed and Scoil Chroí Íosa delayed opening until 10am.

Local parish priest, Fr Michael Fitzgerald, warned of treacherous conditions on footpaths in the area, and advised mass-goers to stay at home and view the mass online. Blarney Castle and Estate could not open until 11.30am.

There was an incident at Clogheen and vehicles became stuck on the hill between Kerry Pike and Healy's Bridge. Treacherous conditions were also reported at Farranferris, Carrigaline and Blackpool.

In West Cork there were incidents in Bandon where cars were abandoned on Gallows Hill and Chapel Lane Hill where temporary closures were put in pace due to black ice and accidents were also reported on O’Mahoney Avenue.

The Skibbereen to Drinagh road was also blocked for a time due to vehicles stranded on the ice and there were numerous reports of hazardous conditions from Castletownbere to Durrus, Timoleague and Crossbarry.

A number of school bus services were cancelled or delayed due to the adverse weather and some schools also delayed their opening times.

In East Cork, icy road conditions were also reported around Yoghal, Ballycotton Garryvoe and Ladysbridge.

Salt bins for community groups

Elsewhere, Cork City Council said it has reopened its application process for suburban salt bins for community groups and resident associations only to treat local problematic areas.

The applicant who requests the salt will have to provide a secure location where the salt can be delivered and stored.

“The provision of the salt is primarily intended to empower local communities to assist themselves during a cold spell. It is not intended for personal use, as individuals would be expected to acquire their own salt supplies,” it said.

Once distributed to a community group or resident association the salt will become the property of the group, and the council said it is not responsible for the storage, distribution, application or usage of salt from then on.

The form will be available until March 31.

Meanwhile, the cold snap is set to continue for the rest of this week and into the weekend.

Temperatures last night plummeted as low as -4.7C in Co Roscommon.

Met Éireann's Gerry Murphy said we can expect more of the same as the week goes on.

"Overall, daytime temperatures will rise to 3C and 6C," said Mr Murphy.

"For the nights, temperatures will be dropping down to well below freezing with icy patches and fog in places.

"Not widespread and not everywhere, but this is typical of what we can expect this week."

Mr Murphy said the cold spell is "typical enough for winter in Ireland".

As the fog begins to clear on Monday, sunny spells will develop and eastern coastal counties can expect some showers.

Tonight will see widespread sharp frost and icy patches with temperatures ranging from -4C to 1C.

This will be slow to clear once again on Tuesday morning and will be followed by a dry and sunny day for most of the country.

High pressure will dominate this week, bringing mostly dry and cold weather with spots of sunshine.