Cork street re-opened after masonry falls from shop building
By Eoin English
The pedestrianised French Church Street in the heart of Cork city's busy shopping district has reopened after last night's falling masonry incident.
However, a section of the street at the St Patrick's Street end remains partially screened off to protect against falling loose plaster.
The street was closed overnight after a passerby reported seeing masonry falling from the side of the former Moderne building.
Cork City Fire Brigade responded immediately and after conducting an initial inspection, they found that the reveal around a window had come loose, and that some of the fascia had come away from brick work on another part of the building.
They called in city council building inspectors and the street was sealed off for safety reasons.
A senior fire office dismissed reports which emerged last night that a partial roof collapse had occurred.
He said the issue was relatively minor but that the street had to be closed to allow repair work take place safely.
