Crack appears in Millennium Cross

The local committee that erected the symbolic Millennium Cross above Portroe say there is no danger to visitors following the emergence of a crack in the structure.
However, a spokesperson last week said that attempts to repair the damage have been hampered over limited access to the Cloneybrien site and its popular walking trails. 
Installed in 2002, the Millennium Cross replaced an earlier cross that was erected in celebration of the Eucharistic Congress of 1932. It was destroyed by lightening in 1945. Sixty feet tall and weighing in excess of four tonnes, the new cross was a project born to mark the Millennium in Portroe, and to represent the strength and unity of the local parish. 
The recent appearance of a crack in the structure has been greeted with concern by many visitors to the site. It attracts people from all over Ireland and abroad, who come to walk and marvel at the sweeping views over Lough Derg and its hinterland.
But a spokesperson for the committee said there is no danger of the cross falling over. It is believed that the crack formed as a result of a weakness in the outer structure; the cross itself is made of steel and it is based in 65 tonnes of concrete.
The spokesperson reckoned the damage happened around three months ago. He said the committee has engaged expertise to assess and repair the damage but stressed that an issue remains over access to the site.
The original car park serving the site was removed and replaced with bollards in early 2017 – an action that remains a bone of contention with the local committee today – after Tipperary Co Council chose a new location for the car park on the Graves of the Leinstermen side. A key is now needed to remove the bollards.
The spokesperson said concerns raised at the time over access for emergency services in the event of a forest fire or someone getting injured are still valid. He said the new entrance is not suitable and is largely inaccessible in inclement weather. 
Ideally, a teleporter machine would be brought in to repair the damaged cross but this has not yet been possible, the spokesperson said. An alternative plan is being prepared and, despite being a difficult task, he was hopeful of the damage being fixed in the coming week