In many places throughout the world some old traditions hold steadfast, with Ireland being no exception to this phenomenon: Irish Teachta Dála (Member of Parliament) Danny Healy-Rae says that a persistent dip in a road running through his constituency in County Kerry is being caused by the presence of nearby "fairy forts", an arrangement of standing stones that, according to tradition, is associated with fairy-folk.
The road in question, the N22, is a national primary road that has been suffering a persistent and potentially dangerous dip, due to the formation of a hollow near Curraglass, an area 36 kilometers (22 miles) northwest of Cork. While the council’s road department explained in 2007 that the dip was due to "a deeper underlying subsoil/geotechnical problem," Healy-Rae couldn’t help but question, "is it fairies at work?"
This was compounded in Healy-Rae’s mind when the dip reappeared, following extensive repairs that were meant to correct the problem. "There are numerous fairy forts in that area. I know that they are linked. Anyone that tampered with them back over the years paid a high price and had bad luck."
"That is what is responsible for the dip in the N22 which has occurred again, despite the council spending around €40,000 ($47,000 USD) to repair it."
A similar issue came about in Iceland in 2014 when construction on a roadway was halted, due to the discovery that it would interfere with stones associated with the Huldufolk, Icelandic for "the hidden people".
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