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ENGINEERS WARNED THAT efforts to make safe the path of one of the country’s most famous walking routes were doomed to failure because of the danger of collapsing cliffs.
Wicklow County Council were forced to close off parts of the Bray Cliff Walk last year with an internal report saying stabilisation works would be “prohibitively exorbitant” and “excessively hazardous”.
Engineers recommended that the local authority negotiate with nearby landowners about creating a new route that would take visitors inland and away from the most vulnerable cliffs.
A significant grant of €198,000 was subsequently awarded by government to help contribute towards construction and land acquisition costs.
An inspection report said that two significant collapses had taken place within forty metres of each other on the path between Bray and Greystones in spring of last year.
It said walking was now “hazardous” and that efforts to fence off the most dangerous parts of the path had posed difficulties.
The report said: “It is simply not feasible to physically close off the Cliff Walk to the public. This was tried … during the very first Level 5 Covid-19 restrictions.
“Fences and barriers erected were simply pulled apart and broken, including private farmland fences and gates. Even when signs are erected and media campaigns advertise its closure and that it is hazardous, the public do still walk it.”
District engineer Ruairi O’Hanlon said negotiations with local landowners should start immediately as the cliff edge was now very unstable.
He said there was no way any geotechnical expert would deem them safe and that trying to restore the pathway was “simply not a feasible solution”.
The report said there was significant risk of further collapses, high tides encroaching on the cliff face, and that the window of time for carrying out work would be very short.
“No plant, machinery, or materials could be left on the beach due to high tide and access to the base of the collapse could take ninety minutes from the Greystones Harbour Marina,” it said.
Mr O’Hanlon also said that any works carried out might only last a short while before another storm came along to undo them.
He also explained how the cliff was mostly being eroded by surface water runoff from above with drainage pipes through the land dating from when the local rail line was first constructed in the 19th century.
The report said this would only get worse due to climate change and that the only option was to move the path inland and try and deal with the runoff of surface water.
The engineer suggested that works could take place to modernise or remove pipes and that creation of a woodland on Bray Head would also help.
His report concluded: “It is a fact that the cliff will continue to erode and collapse as it has done possibly for the last 10,000 years, since the end of the last Ice Age.
“If we wish to protect this amenity for future generations, we need to future proof it as best we can with current best practice.”
Mr O’Hanlon recommended the removal of the ageing pipes to allow the development of natural drainage ditches to allow water to flow naturally towards the sea.
Planting of trees on Bray Head was also recommended with minutes of a Greystones Municipal District saying farmers would need to be “incentivised” to take part.
A statement from the council said: “Following the collapse of the cliff on the Greystones side of the Cliff Walk in February 2021 a report was prepared by Municipal District Engineer Ruairi O’Hanlon.
“In the report, a short-term action was to negotiate with adjacent landowners in order to bypass the affected area and these rerouting negotiations are still ongoing by the law department of Wicklow County Council. Monies have been ringfenced for the lands in question.
“In the interim, funding has been secured by … Wicklow County Council to do the relevant construction works once land negotiations are completed.”
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I’m only in my the boozer. I’m half drunk, half high and there’s a strange smell of raw meat off me. What the heck am I doing here reading about baby names for?
We should just use our pps numbers
What the article doesn’t state is that this list was issued by Dept of Foreign Affairs and is a list of the first names of babies who applied for passports. It is not a list of all babies born last year. That is done by the CSO and comes out later in the year. This one means nothing
It clearly states at the top of the graph that the names are from birth certs.
Yes. Birth certs provided for passport applications, not all birth certs issued last year. Those stats aren’t collated until later this year. Google it
Yes. From birth certs provided for passport applications. Not all birth certs issued last year. Those stats aren’t collated yet. Google it. Dept of Foreign Affairs released these ones, that’s your clue.
@Santa Carla: That seems legit at face value. I was wondering why the department of foreign affairs were collating birth cert statistics.
Why are people such sheep when it comes to choosing names?
If they really were sheep,we’d be calling them Wooly and Shaun
When you have a kid call it Enda so
Recently I heard a child being called Noah by his Mother.
The first thing I thought of was ‘where is the flood’
If only Daniel and jack were in reverse
@eastsmer #IRExit: When I hear jack I think where is the bean stalk,and as for Emily I think where is the ponies .English to the core this nation of sheep are.
Very soon it will be Mohammed.
Highly unlikely. You’re probably the type who sees the country as overwhelmed with Muslims, when in fact it’s just 1.1% of the population. That’s about 51,000 people out of 4.7 million, and about 4,650,000 people who are not Muslim. That, coupled with the fact that (and this may surprise you) they don’t call all their sons Mohammed, makes it even more unlikely.
But don’t let the facts get in the way of your arsey comment.
On another topic though, I’m sad to see so few Irish names in the lists. None for the boys, and two for the girls. So many nice ones to choose from.
Ah fèck it, there are at least three Irish names for boys. Sunday morning brain is a curse.
@Eamon Mac Gowan: Followed by Abdul,Haifa,Ibrahim,Precious.
Please please please save us from Jack.
It’s been going on 20 years.
1/5 of boys are called Jack.
Its cringeworthy.
It’s awful.
@Tom Burke: Do you know how it started by the way?
Titanic
James Cameron has a lot to answer for
I’d just like to point out that on the Journal’s graph they show lego on the male side. Can’t girls play with lego too? That’s some deep internalised misogyny right there. I knew the Journal was part of the patriarchy! Hell they even use pink and blue. And there’s only two genders!? Sexist and transphobic as ever.
Fyi this is satire just in case I activate Poe’s law
Just wondering how or where the Department of Foreign Affairs comes into it.
It’s not possible to have a list of baby names yet as parent have 3 months to register their kids so a list like this is BS
It’s not the proper CSO list Paul. This is just a list of the names on birth certs for babies who made passport applications last year
Noah and Amelia/Emilia are the best names here
Amelia sounds like some kind of blood disorder…
Yes, but each to their own. I’m guessing that most Emilias are named after the actress’s stage name. The woman who plays Daenerys. I think it would date fast. At least naming a child after a legendary Irish character would mean they or their great-grandchildren could look it up later, while most names from a TV series will seem obscure even one generation on.
Enda is a lovely name. Enda Kenny with be all forgotten about in 5 years time.
It’s a pity his policies won’t be.
AAHH no Enda how many Simon’s
Michelle, surely these are passport related, why else would dept of foreign affairs issue?
my son was born in march 2016,and his name is Thor and that’s not on your list
have your say