Is this the deadliest road in the land?

Is this most dangerous road in Ireland?

Locals in An Cheathrú Rua claim it is not only the worst road in Connemara – which isn’t blessed with proper road infrastructure – it is as bad as any road anywhere else in the country.

And now residents of Derrartha Mór are stepping up their 20 year campaign to have the road, which stretches three miles, made safe.

Up to 600 pupils from South Connemara travel by bus and car each weekday to Scoil Chuimsitheach Chiaráin and Scoil Mhic Dara.

The road is along CIÉ’s regular Galway to Connemara bus route, and is busy with traffic for the 5,300 residents its serves in An Cheathrú Rua and the South Connemara islands.

The main fear of locals is the road is not wide enough, and it is not designed to take the volumes of traffic that use it daily.

“It was built over a hundred years ago, and it was only for horse and cart. It is five feet, maybe six feet wide, and it is dangerous,” said local resident Pádraic McDonagh.

He formed a committee recently to crank-up efforts to compel Galway County Council to finish widening works along the road.

In 1997, the local authority purchased land along the side of the road in order to widen it, but 10 years on and there has ben little progress.

About a half a mile stretch from An Chistin public house to the caravan park was widened but it was not finished.

“There’s about two and a half miles left to do. They bought the land and said they would be back in two weeks to start the work and we haven’t seen them since,” claimed Mr McDonagh.

“All we are getting is promises and promises. They keep promising but nothing is ever done. There are six or seven buses with 60 kids using it every morning going to the two schools and every evening they collect them at 4pm. It is used by the ambulance and by the fire brigade and by the 5,300 people who are living back there.

“It is too narrow to pass. We hope nothing happens but it is dangerous. We have to fight to get the work done. It is the worst road in Connemara and the worst road in the country, and yet they won’t do anything about it. They keep saying they haven’t the money but they find money for other things,” he added.

Mr McDonagh praised Galway West Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuív, who he said was helping lobby on behalf of the committee. However, he was critical of Fine Gael’s Galway West representative, Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs, Seán Kyne, who he claimed did not respond to correspondence from the committee.

“Seán Kyne was out at the opening of something in Carraroe a couple of months ago and we brought him to the road to show it to him. Catherine Connolly (Independent TD) and Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Féin senator) were there as well. And do you know what Seán Kyne said? He said ‘Pádraic, everyone is looking for money’. We are sick of waiting for this work to be done, all we get is promises and nothing happens,” added Mr McDonagh.