'The council don't care one bit about us': Spring Lane residents hit out after weekend of unrest

Spring Lane halting site is home to more than 140 people, who live in up to 80 mobile homes. The caravans are organised in blocks which are navigated by dusty and potholed makeshift lanes.  File picture: Larry Cummins

The Spring Lane halting site in Cork’s Ballyvolane was quiet on Monday, after a weekend of unrest which saw two men hospitalised with gunshot wounds.

The Garda helicopter and members of the armed response unit attended the scene during two days of unrest at Spring Lane, and following what gardaí called the discharge of a weapon on Sunday.

One man is understood to have suffered a bullet wound, while the other has injuries caused by pellets. Neither man is believed to have sustained life-threatening injuries.

There has been a call for a special meeting of Cork City Council to address concerns following the weekend of incidents.

A garda armed response jeep slowly patrolled the site on Monday morning. It is home to more than 140 people, who live in up to 80 mobile homes.

The caravans are organised in blocks which are navigated by dusty and potholed makeshift lanes.

One older man got out of a parked car and became angry when the Irish Examiner asked if he would talk about the weekend’s incidents.

“You haven’t one bit of business here,” he said, as a group of five younger men gathered around him.

“Ye only ever come down here when there’s trouble, so the best thing you could do now is fuck off like a good man while you still can.” 

When asked again for a comment, he repeated his suggestion.

However, another man, whose young daughter was leading a foal along the road with a length of rope, said the focus should be on conditions at the halting site rather than on reports of violent incidents.

Pointing to a large and deep pothole, he said he was “blue in the face” from asking Cork City Council to repair the road surface.

“They don’t care, the council don’t care one bit about us,” he said.

His daughter added: “The council don’t give one fuck about us.”

Spring Lane was originally a gravel quarry before it was turned into a 10-bay halting site in 1989.

In 2021, the Ombudsman for Children's Office (OCO) criticised Cork City Council for what it deemed to be “shocking” and “deplorable” conditions for children at the site.

The report found that children were living in filthy, overcrowded, rat-infested, and unsafe conditions where raw sewage was visible.

At the time, the OCO found that about 140 people were using toilets and washing facilities designed for 40 people.

In 2024, the council drew up plans for an €18m regeneration of the site, which were subsequently approved by councillors.

The plans included the redevelopment of the halting site and the construction of a purpose-built group housing scheme in the adjacent Ellis Yard.

Last September, Green Party councillor Oliver Moran was told the council was working on progressing those plans.

A Cork City Council spokesperson said the scheme had received Part 8 planning approval, and that it intended for the works to go to tender in the coming weeks.