Tag Archives: storm

Drivers have been facing treacherous road conditions on their journey this morning (Wednesday) following heavy overnight snowfall. The main roads were gritted through the night by Clare County Council personnel but drivers are being warned they still need to exercise caution. Roads which were badly affected include: Ennis-Kilrush Ennis-Ennistymon The M18 motorway Shannon Town Kilmaley The hill at Kilnamona The Hand Kilcolgan and Ardrahan in Co. Galway While thaw is setting in, back roads are likely to remain slippery for several hours to come. Power cuts have also been reported in Smxilebridge, Tulla, Killaloe and Lahinch. At one point the ESB said nearly 800 customers were affected. Services on the rail-line between Ennis and Athenry have been suspended due to frozen points. Bus Éireann says most services are running with delays, though the Scariff-Clonlara-Limerick service was cancelled. It will be a case of snow to heavy rain and stormy conditions later today. Met Éireann is warning of heavy rain showers this …

MONDAY’S Government announcement of almost €233,000 for storm damaged Clare piers will be met with relief in the communities affected. Clare Labour TD, Michael McNamara  said that four piers will benefit from a funding package for the repair of public owned piers, harbours and slipways damaged during the winter storms. Funding for four Clare Piers is as follows: Liscannor                                             €130,950 Ballyvaughan Pier                           €65,700 Seafield Pier                                      €18,000 Kilbaha Pier                                       €18,000 “These funds will be made available to Clare County Council for the immediate repair of the piers concerned as part of an extended capital programme for 2014. I welcome the Clare allocation announced by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney,” commented Deputy McNamara. “When I met him in Liscannor, where he surveyed the storm damage, I have no doubt that the minister was shocked by the scale of the damage and that fact that he has reacted so swiftly is very good news,”  Deputy McNamara added.

Kilkee Civic Trust (KCT) is usually associated with organising a summer programme of talks and music events, but the organisation is springing into action this weekend to support an important community effort. “Arising from so much terrible storm damage disfiguring our beloved Kilkee, we are putting out a call for assistance, at the request of our fellow KCT member, Mayor Paddy Collins, for everyone to assist in any way possible, to help by improving matters on the ground,” said spokesperson, Joseph McClosker. To this end, there will be a promenade clean-up, starting from 9am this Saturday. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Intrinsic Anchor, near Fisherman’s Corner, at the East End. This is an entire community initiative, and is being organised by friends of Kilkee, with the help of Kilkee Chamber of Commerce. It is important that suitable clothing is worn and that a mindset of safety is maintained throughout the clean-up.

LOCAL businesses are rallying behind those hit hardest by recent storms on the county’s coast with an entire weekend of fundraisers organised in Ennis. Dubbed the Clare Coast Storm Benefit the three nights of events with something for everyone will take place in The Grove, Roslevan from Friday, February 21 to Sunday, February 23. And funds raised from the three events will be divided with half going towards the repairing the playground in Lahinch while the second half will be donated to another worthy cause yet to be decided. Donagh Vaughan, owner of The Grove explained that their efforts to help those in need following the storm have been greatly supported both in Ennis and in other parts of the county, including areas still reeling from the bad weather. “We all have to pull together and help out in times like this,” he said. “The idea behind this came when we started seeing the pictures of the damage coming through …

AS so often happens when there is heavy rain, the railway line between Ennis and Limerick is closed due to flooding and Iarnród Éireann have said it will be at least six weeks until it reopens. In the interim Iarnród Éireann say there will be bus transfers operating, at scheduled train times, and they will also serve Sixmilebridge. Train services between Ennis and Galway will remain as normal. In a statement on Tuesday Iarnród Éireann said; “The line has flooded following a significant increase in water levels at Ballycar Lough due to the recent sustained heavy rainfall, and the slow draining nature of the karst landscape in the area.   Should the recent rainfall patterns persist, this will extend significantly the duration of the closure of the rail line.” The statement also said; “Iarnród Éireann had raised the track level by 60 centimetres at Ballycar in 2003 to mitigate against the effects of flooding.  However, the current flood levels are at …

AFTER the storm comes the damage assessment and the clean up in County Clare. Hurricane-like conditions, which swept through the county on Wednesday left a trail of destruction in its wake. Winds gusting up to 160kph brought down power supply lines, uprooted trees, leading to numerous road closures, while slates were ripped from houses and property damaged. At the height of Storm Darwin, the ESB estimated that as many as 20,000 homes and businesses were left without power across the county. The south east of the county was worst affected with power outages reported in Killaloe,  Cratloe, Sixmilebridge, Newmarket, Clarecastle, Tulla, Ennis and other pockets of the county. Despite the fact that ESB Networks crews have been out in force trying to restore power supplies, many of those areas still remain without power. The problems facing many home owners have also been exacerbated, as the knock-on effect of outages was the lack of water supply. Many householders could have to …

BEFORE even a puff of wind blew on Wednesday, Clare manager, Tom Coughlan had told a meeting of Clare County Council  that almost €37m was required for repairs following Storms Catherine and Bridget. The latest damage means there will be a further revision of the repair bill. On Monday, Mr Tom Coughlan said the cash-strapped local authority is spending money it hasn’t really got on repairs. A report prepared by senior engineer, Tom Tiernan outlined the amounts needed for works in various parts of the county. According to their figures, €6,064,689 is required for Lahinch, the largest sum for any single area. The townland of Cloughaninchy in Quilty requires a massive €4.716 million, while just shy of €3.5 million is needed for both Kilbaha and New Quay. Seven figure sums are also required for Doolin, Liscannor, Carrowmore,Whitestrand/Doonmore in Doonbeg, Kilcredaun Irish College and Carrowdotia/N67 Moneypoint. Overall, 42 areas are identified, requiring a combined total of €33,455,713 and it estimates a contingency …

TENS of thousands of people in Clare were affected by hurricane-force winds which battered the county on Wednesday in the most recent storm to hit the country. More than 20,000 homes and businesses were without power on Wednesday evening with ESB Networks stating that this situation and that continues to be the case on this Thursday.  In fact some homes, farms and businesses may be without electricity and water for at least another day. Fallen trees blocked roads in many areas, buildings were damaged and a number of road accidents, including two incidents of trucks jack-knifing, took place as extremely high winds swept through the county from early afternoon. Shannon Airport was closed for much of the day due to high winds. A plane parked there was blown over on its side but was empty at the time and no one was injured in the incident. Met Eireann’s radar at Shannon Airport was also damaged by high winds. Clare County …