'Rocky road': N72 Mallow-Killarney road ‘in an appalling state’

A stretch of the main route between Mallow and Killarney was likened to the ‘rocky road to Dublin’ during Monday’s meeting of Cork County Council when the surface of the N72 was discussed.

Bernard Moynihan, a Fianna Fáil councillor in the Kanturk electoral district, told the meeting a significant section of the N72 is in an “appalling state”.

“Two parts of the road have been done now, the Lyradown section and the Meeskeha section, and they’re really excellent but these parts that been done and are really good are showing up the really poor parts,” he said. “It’s really urgent that this work be done, it’s a really busy road,” said the councillor.

Mr Moynihan suggested writing to Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s CEO and seeking a meeting with him.

“I’m asking the council to write to the relevant bodies, write to the Minister, write to the TII, raise the issue everywhere we can to see if we can get this funding fast-tracked,” he said. 

“It’s an embarrassment — people ring me all the time to give out to me about the road and I say to them, I understand, it’s a disgrace.”

Mr Moynihan said that local tyre companies had been called to one junction five times in a week to repair wheels damaged when cars drove into potholes.

Mallow-based Fianna Fáil councillor Gearóid Murphy described some stretches of the road west of Clonbannin as being in an “atrocious state, particularly around the Cullen area”.

“It’s just crazy that it has gotten as bad as it is and I would fully support writing to the TII and to the Department of Transport to seek urgent funding for this road.”

Independent councillor in the Fermoy municipality Peter O’Donoghue said the N72 going towards Waterford was in what he described as a “scandalous condition”.

“There are loads of roads in the area that are in a better condition, this road is a national road and national roads are meant to be premier roads in the best condition but it’s like driving the rocky road to Dublin, driving the N72 at the moment.”