Neighbours' dispute over right-of-way sparked violence at Spring Lane halting site last month

Overcrowding now so acute it is fuelling tensions between families, advocates say

The violence erupted over a dispute about a right-of-way, when one family wanted to lay a pipe that would require digging ground at a neighbour’s plot.

A disagreement between neighbours about a right-of-way sparked the violence that resulted in multiple hospitalisations at Spring Lane halting site on Cork City’s northside late last month.

Overcrowding there is now so acute it is fuelling tensions between families who have no history of enmity, sources say.

One man suffered a non-fatal gunshot wound, another required stitches for a gash across his head, and another was shot with what are believed to have been pellets during the violence on August 23.

Videos circulating on social media showed men and boys armed with what appeared to be slash hooks, metal bars and other implements attacking people at the site and throwing objects at each other.

While the violence was largely perpetrated by men, some women and children could have been caught in the crossfire.

The violence erupted over a dispute about a right-of-way, when one family wanted to lay a pipe that would require digging ground at a neighbour’s plot.

Gardaí quickly restored peace on Sunday, August 23, after receiving calls about a “riot” in the area, with locals reportedly hearing gunshots.

Despite a thorough Garda search of the area on Sunday evening, no gun has been retrieved.

One woman on the site said while there were armed Garda patrols following the unrest, by midweek, the community sergeant was there on his own, talking to the families.

Peace has been maintained there since, but as overcrowding continues — and slowly but steadily worsens — there are concerns on site tensions may escalate again.

Some 140 people now live on a site that was originally designed for just 10 mobile homes.

They share approximately 40 toilets, and the sewage system is overstretched and water supply is limited, sources say.

Although it has passed fire safety inspections, sources say too many people are sharing limited electricity points there, with multiple extension cables potentially presenting fire hazards.

Cork City Council approved plans in 2024 to redevelop the Ballyvolane halting site with new homes and to also build housing for residents on the adjacent site called Ellis’ Yard. 

But progress on that redevelopment has been slow.

A damning report into conditions at Spring Lane was published five years ago by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office.

Children were living in filthy, overcrowded, rat-infested and unsafe conditions where raw sewage was visible, it found.

But despite much hand-wringing at that time, five years later, the site is even more overcrowded, with families living in equally difficult circumstances, Brigid Carmody, of the Cork Traveller Women’s Network, said.

“Overcrowding has actually gotten worse since the Ombudsman report,” Ms Carmody said.

“The site is at capacity, families can’t fit any more mobile homes there.

But the numbers living there keep growing. Every three to four years, another 10 young couples get married and have their own families.

Although some families want to move to housing away from Spring Lane, the housing crisis has meant very few have found or been allocated housing elsewhere.

“There's no progression into rented accommodation and it's so difficult for Travellers to get rented accommodation,” Ms Carmody said.

“So the younger generation, in another three or four years, you could have another 10 young people married with their own families now who will also need accommodation.

“I'm not sure the public see the bigger picture of that site and how close people live together and how cramped it is and how bad the conditions are.

“You're sharing water, electricity, toilets. There are elderly, sick, children living there. There are just so many people living on that site.”