Irish Examiner view: Islanders can't be left marooned as cable car is closed

Dursey Island in West Cork depends on a safe and reliable connection to the mainland

Then taoiseach Jack Lynch and his wife Maureen about to make their first crossing in the Dursey Island cable car in December 1969. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive

In one way, the sense of decisions being taken far away from the point at which they have an impact that characterises the P&O dispute can find an echo in another, and local, story of maritime challenges.

The number of people living on Dursey Island in West Cork is so few they can be counted on the fingers of one hand but they now face a difficult nine months as the island’s iconic cable car closes for essential maintenance this Thursday.