Sir, - We in Cork are fed up of Dublin people continually crying about the state of their roads and claiming that they are the worst in the country.
On behalf of the people of Cork, I now formally claim that our roads are by any standards, national or international, the worst, the most dangerous, the most neglected, and the most appallingly managed anywhere. I hereby challenge anybody to show me bigger and deeper potholes, ruts, cracks, crevices, ravines and mini-fjiords than in the general Glasheen/Wilton/ Curraheen area of Cork.
Another unique feature of new roads here is the incorporation of designer potholes around existing drains which are usually set back at least six inches below the surface. Apparently these are designed to ensure cyclists are alert and have hard heads.
Finally, I guarantee that any letters of concern to the City Manager, however numerous, articulate and well-meaning, will be ignored. Those willing to take up the challenge should send their entries to the Roads Department, Cork Corporation, City Hall, Cork, or the nearest rubbish bin. - Yours, etc.,
John Leahy, Wilton Road, Cork.