Sinkhole shock at GAA club
A MASSIVE sinkhole opened up in Co. Monaghan yesterday almost swallowing up an entire GAA grounds.
The chasm – formed after the a gypsum mine collapsed – dramatically tore through the pitch and clubhouse at Magheracloone Mitchells GFC.
A school was evacuated when the fissure was discovered and car dealerships and roads were also closed.
Gyproc, which runs the large gypsum mine, is sending a team in to investigate the collapse in the area today.
‘Collect your children ASAP’
RESIDENTS of Co. Monaghan might be fearing a Brexit that could shake the border county’s very foundations – but they awoke yesterday to the shock of a very different ‘hard border’.
A surprise chasm that ripped through a local GAA grounds was caused by a sinkhole formed from a collapsed gypsum mine.
As a result, the club was closed and a nearby school was evacuated. Two car dealerships were also shut down and roads were closed.
The damage from the fissure is so great that the club, Magheracloone Mitchells, will likely have to train at other grounds. ‘Nobody is to enter the grounds under any circumstances,’ the club warned on social media yesterday.
The gypsum mine is likely the largest underground structure in Ireland, according to an engineering report prepared before the collapse, and a local councillor said residents fear the sinkhole will grow.
By last night, it was not yet known how deep the hole is.
However, a geological team is due to arrive at the site today to determine the scale of subsidence and the risk of further events.
The local primary school sent a message to parents to collect their children ‘as soon as possible’ yesterday.
Gyproc, which runs the large gypsum mine in the area, confirmed yesterday that it is investigating the collapse at its mine, and said it will ‘liaise with local residents and authorities’ to keep them updated on the situation.
Gyproc is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain Ireland and mines gypsum – a soft chalky mineral – for the manufacture of plasterboard.
Two hotels in the vicinity of the mine – Cabra Castle and Treacys Hotel –remained open yesterday despite the chaos.