Sinkhole interrupts traffic in Dublin, is linked to 19th century brothel

A two-foot-wide, 6-foot-deep sinkhole opened up on Dublin’s Dame Street on Tuesday evening, rerouting traffic throughout the city’s centre.

On further inspection, city officials discovered the hole was much larger beneath the tarmac’s surface and could have caused “considerable damage” if it had given way.

Originally assumed to be caused by water damage to foundations beneath the road surface, some experts now believe the leading suspect of the road’s collapse is a tunnel leading to a 19th century brothel.

Historian Gerry Cooley told the Evening Herald that an old cellar discovered in the hole could be part of a “long-rumoured tunnel” used by 1800s politicians as a route to brothels.

"The King of England closed down the House of Commons and House of Lords in Ireland during the time when politicians were spending too much time in the brothels," Cooley said.

"They built the tunnels from what is now the Bank of Ireland on College Green. If you dig deep enough anywhere around that area you are likely to find medieval artefacts or a part of the old 17th-to-19th century Ireland.

"It could be the remnants of the residence of Chichester, or the tunnels which politicians would use to sneak out to the pubs or gentleman’s clubs.”

Dublin City Council confirmed the finding of “an old cellar,” and announced that it was being filled in with concrete.

Early Wednesday morning, a Toronto driver was forced to climb out of his Jaguar’s window after his car was swallowed by a sinkhole in the city’s west end.

No underground cellar — or brothel route — was blamed for the scary hole.