Watch: Cork man finds snake near Kent Station

St Patrick didn't drive all the snakes out of Ireland 

Colm and his co-worker Siobhan Horgan had gone to see the new points system at the railway track at the end of Myrtle Hill in Cork when they noticed what appeared to be a snake. Picture: Larry Cummins

Legend has it that St Patrick banished snakes from Ireland, but a Cork man recently found evidence to the contrary when he spotted one slithering alongside the tracks near Kent Station.

Colm Twohig was out walking with a colleague when he came across the snake. It is thought to be a non-venomous escaped family pet.

Colm and his co-worker Siobhan Horgan had gone to see the new points system at the railway track at the end of Myrtle Hill in Cork when they noticed what appeared to be a snake.

“We were looking at it and walked over towards it and next thing it moved. 'Cripes, what’s that?' I said.

"It had to be a snake, you wouldn’t expect to see a snake down around here.” 

 Colm said he and Siobhan moved closer to the creature to get a better look.

“I took out my camera then to videotape it. And his head was up two inches staring at us. We went around to the back of him and he moved off," he told The Opinion Line on Cork's 96FM.

“We thought we might pick it up, we didn’t know if it was dangerous or not. We thought it might be a corn snake. I got close to him and I thought ‘Will I or won’t I (pick him up)?’ 

"We decided to get gloves and a bag to put him into it.” 

Colm and another colleague, Des Murphy, went back down to the spot with gloves and a bag. However, Colm said that unfortunately, they were unable to find the snake.

“We couldn’t find him at all. He won’t survive in this weather. We were frantically looking around. He was a lovely-looking thing about three foot long. He was frightened.

"He was right beside the train track. He was crossing the track when we spotted him. We thought it was a bit of cloth first. Hopefully he isn’t dead.” 

The pair had hoped to rescue the snake in order to reunite it with its owner. A member of staff from Fota Wildlife Park also travelled to the scene in a bid to find the snake to no avail.