Cork school closed today following burst water main

A Cork school which had to close early yesterday following a burst water main in the local area, is to remain closed today.

Water supplies had to be turned off in the area around Redemption Road to allow for repair works following the burst main yesterday which had led to a street being flooded.

Redemption Road reopened to the general public last evening.

However, this morning local primary school Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers said it would remain closed today as there is no water in the building.

In correspondence to families, it said: "We have no choice but to keep the school closed today, Friday. We apologise for any inconvenience."

Local councillor Kenneth Collins was critical of the delays in restoring water to the school and said the issue was causing stress for parents and guardians of pupils attending the school.

Irish Water crews were alerted to the burst water main on Redemption Road yesterday morning and spent a number of hours at the scene carrying out repairs.

This morning, a spokesperson for Irish Water said that investigations were underway regarding a further possible outage in the area. 

"Crews were mobilised yesterday morning at around 11am following a burst watermains on Redemption Road. Repair works were carried out and supply was restored in the area. Investigations are ongoing this morning regarding a further possible outage.

"Irish Water understands the inconvenience when a burst occurs and appreciates customers patience while we carry out any repairs to restore normal water supply. The Irish Water customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates, please visit the Water Supply Updates section of www.water.ie"

The spokesperson has since advised that the matter was a third party issue and valves had been shut off including to the school. The valve for the school has since opened this morning, the spokesperson said.