The cable car connecting Dursey Island to the mainland in Co. Cork will resume service this Friday (June 9), Cork County Council has confirmed.
Essential repairs and works to replace the island and mainland tower infrastructure for the cable car have come to an end.
The service has been closed from April 1, 2022, and repair works have previously been affected by adverse weather and difficult sea conditions.
A formal reopening of the cable car will take place on Friday, the council said. It was initially announced that the cable-car service would be closed for eight months.
After a severe weather incident in late 2021, the council identified that urgent, essential remediation work to the support towers were necessary to ensure the continued safe operation of the cable car.
Livestock on Dursey Island
Farmers with livestock on Dursey Island were left without access to the island at times, despite a ferry service which had been in place since late-May last year.
Some cattle and sheep were taken off the island earlier this year due to concerns for their welfare. Eight farmers currently have a total of 100 cattle and 500 sheep on Dursey Island.
Welcoming the service resumption, the Cork west chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Donal O’Donovan said farmers now have a chance to check in on their animals on the island.
O’Donovan highlighted the importance of accessing the island safely by the cable car, particularly after some farmers had been travelling by boat themselves.
“It is a long-term investment which will have a good effect for all farmers,” the IFA Cork west chair told Agriland.