Two daredevils go to great lengths for dangerous Shandon selfies
By Denise O'Donoghue
A strange sight on Shandon caught the eyes of Shirley McCarthy and her sister on Saturday - two people balancing on a ledge of the 120 ft tall tower in Cork.
“On two separate occasions two people went up to take selfies, the first person was up there for about ten minutes on and off. Then the second person went up to join in, taking selfies with Cork city in the background,” Shirley says.
“I took them looking out the window of my sister’s house on Wolfe Tone street.
“They started about 12.35 and were up and down off the ledge till 12.50.
“I couldn’t believe anyone could be so stupid to put their lives in danger like that.
@CorksRedFM the Shandon bells today! pic.twitter.com/hbkmNfluyJ
— Shirley (@mackshir) February 7, 2015
“They kept turning around on the ledge and you could see their coats blowing around it was so windy up there.
“Down in Cork they’d be known as langers.”
Pics taken yesterday, 2 people taking selfies while standing on the parapet of Shandon! @OpinionLine96 via @mackshir pic.twitter.com/XxDPGNG4F6
— BellsofShandon (@BellsofShandon) February 8, 2015
Surprisingly, climbing on the walls of Shandon is not frowned upon.
“We’d encourage anybody who’s visiting to be safe and use common sense,”a spokeswoman for the Shandon Bells and Tower told the Irish Mirror.
“The wall is quite high and a person would have to make the choice to climb up on it.”
Fianna Fail councillor Sean Martin fears that this may encourage others to pose similarly on the landmark building.
“It raises a question for safety. That sort of situation shouldn’t happen whether it’s a dare or not. I’ve never heard anything like that there before.
“We need to look into it to see if new safety measures are needed but of course I’d be encouraging people not to climb up on the ledge of the balcony.
“Unfortunately with this, there could be copycats. It’s an iconic building in Cork.”
One passer-by, John Hall, said he saw a girl standing on the safety railing from the street and immediately alerted the ticket-seller at Shandon to the situation.
He says he "got a 'not my problem' shrug".
"I was passing while this was happening," John says.
"From the street below I saw a girl standing on safety railing on top.
"I reported it to the lady in the office of Shandon. Got a shrug of the shoulders!
"I was stunned at the lack of health and safety awareness!"
HT: irishmirror.ie
