Twenty-seven trees on historic Cork road ‘should be replaced’

Twenty-seven trees that were planted up to 70 years ago along the historic Centre Park Road in Cork city were among the casualties of Storm Ophelia, with crews working much of Tuesday to clear the area.

Historian and independent councillor Kieran McCarthy said the trees were “part of the DNA of the area” and ought to be replaced as soon as possible.

“Centre Park Road was the centre of an old racecourse and then from the 1920s on it became more industrialised. When it was a racecourse the trees used to line it. Thankfully there was no loss of life when the trees fell. The trees need to be replaced because they are part of life here. People have an affinity with them.”

Richard Sweetnam, area manager of Dermot Casey Tree Care, said it was unfortunate to see the loss of so many trees on an iconic stretch of road which was once home to the Ford Motor Plant.

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“Obviously you had the Ford Motor company there and anybody who has gone to Páirc Uí Chaoimh has passed those trees. So it was a sad end. We have been working on making the place safe. The roots were upturned as well disturbing the footpaths so there will be a need for new footpaths.”

Roof blown off

Meanwhile, work is being carried out on Tuesday at Douglas Community School (DCS) in Cork city after the roof was blown off the gym during Storm Ophelia. The roof of the hall knocked down a brick wall when it hit it on Monday afternoon.

Principal of DCS, Jim Long, told RTÉ’s News at One that he was grateful that there had been no loss of life in the incident. Mr Long is unsure if he will be in a position to open the door to students on Wednesday.

“The situation is that the vast majority of it [the roof] is in the school yard. Quite a substantial amount has flown over the school yard in to adjoining properties. There are five properties in total nearby that some of it has landed. It has done some damage to those properties along the way including one sheet landing on a conservatory. Another knocked a wall. Another piece knocked a shed and there was fencing damaged. It really was very fortunate that nobody was killed or injured. One of our biggest concerns is when we can reopen the school. So the initial concern is to make the site secure and then we will decide when we can reopen the school.”