South Clare

Clare County Council has confirmed that a number of roads have reopened in flood-affected parts of North and Southeast Clare as water levels continue to slowly recede. All roads in Springfield, Clonlara are now passable. The N67 at New Quay has reopened but a number of local primary routes remain flooded in the North Clare area. Meanwhile, Clare County Council has received confirmation from the ESB of its decision to reduce the discharge level at Parteen Weir from 300 cumecs to 265 cumecs.

Irish Water has dampened claims about water discolouration in the South East Clare area saying there are no issues with water quality. Councillor Cathal Crowe had requested Irish Water to test the quality of water coming into homes in South-East Clare from the Castletroy Reservoir in Limerick, following complaints about discolouration. Several thousand residents’ water is piped through Limerick City to homes in Meelick, Parteen, Ardnacrusha, Westbury, Shannon Banks, Carraig Midhe and parts of Cratloe. According to Councillor Crowe, residents have complained of discolouration in the water for the past few months. “I saw this discolouration in my own tap water on Tuesday, December 29. There was a yellow tinge to the water as it flowed and it took some time for the dirty sediments in the water to fully settle. I poured a glass of bottled spring water to compare and contrast the two – the difference was very obvious. “With a lot of the administrative staff in Irish Water on …

A Scariff centenarian has attributed her longevity to enjoying life and avoiding stress as much as possible. Nellie Rodgers, Clonusker  recently received a letter from President Michael D Higgins and the statutory €2,540 cheque after turning 100. Still enjoying very good health, Nellie, who was born in New York on November 13, 1915, reads the newspaper every day and duly informs her son, Andrew and daughter-in-law, Geraldine, about all the main news at local and national level. According to Geraldine, Nellie’s advice for a long life is “not to worry too much, enjoy life and avoid stress”. Apart from a reduction in her hearing, Nellie has only been hospitalised twice – last April she fell and broke her hip when she was out weeding in the garden and she previously had a minor operation. Geraldine says her mother-in-law can still remember her boat journey from New York to Clare as if it only happened last week. She left New York …

Clare County Council says it is anticipating an increase in water levels on the Lower River Shannon at Springfield, Clonlara later this evening and overnight as a result of forecast rainfall and the impact of the spill rate of 470 cubic metres per second (cumecs) being maintained at Parteen Weir by the ESB. The local authority, assisted by Clare Civil Defence and The Defence Forces, is maintaining a 24-hour presence to assist residents affected by flooding and to respond to any additional impact. Approximately 5,000 sandbags have been installed in the Springfield area to assist residents of up to 15 properties. Additional sandbags are on standby if required. Up to 30 pumps have been deployed to and are operating in the area. Met Éireann currently has a Yellow Weather Advisory in place for County Clare and is forecasting that a band of rain will move slowly northeastwards over Ireland through this afternoon, evening and tonight. Rainfall amounts of 15 to …

The ESB has cautioned that the levels in Lough Derg have increased marginally in the past 24 hours and that the flow of water through Parteen Weir will remain at 470 cubic metres per second today (Tuesday). The situation will be reviewed again tomorrow. The levels in Lough Derg may reach 2009 levels in the coming days and, as a result, the flow through Parteen Weir may increase up to those levels (up to 500 cumecs). This level of water flow will continue to have associated flooding to land and property in the vicinity of the Shannon downstream of Parteen Weir including the areas of Springfield, Montpelier, Castleconnell, Mountshannon (Annacotty) and the University of Limerick. Other areas between Parteen Weir and Limerick may also be vulnerable to flooding due to local issues. ESB is continuing to monitor the situation and is liaising with the relevant county councils.  

Residents on the outskirts of Clonlara, who have been left marooned by rising flood waters, have urged Agriculture Minister not to forget them ahead of Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. Minister Coveney visited some residents in a flat bottom boat with the help of the Irish Defence Forces early on Sunday morning. The Cork Deputy, who was the first government representative to visit the devastated community, since it began to flood nearly a month ago, spoke to householders,  who are cut off from their homes due to the flooding of a local access road. Standing with the minister in the river of water surrounding her home, resident, Lisa Griffin asked the minister to save the community from the regular incidence of flooding, which first started in 1995. When the ESB-operated Parteen Weir reaches capacity, the company releases excess volumes of water, which in turn results in Springfield and the wider Clonlara area becoming flooded. “If you are going to protect Athlone you are going …

Despite the terrible flooding in the area in recent weeks, the Clonlara community had cause to celebrate the arrival of a new year baby. Lynette and Padraig are the happy parents of Paddy O’Grady, who was born at 4:48am on January 1, at Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital. Paddy has two brothers, Jack (12) and Vinny (11) and sister, Holly (16).

Residents who have been left traumatised by flooding on the outskirts of Clonlara have vowed to embark on a campaign in the New Year to secure long term solutions. Springfield resident, Geraldine Quinlivan stressed that householders deserved proper flood protection to avoid a repeat of the scenario where her husband, brothers and nephews were forced to “sleep on sandbags underneath an umbrella” in an effort to protect homes. Three possible solutions to prevent future flooding in Springfield have been identified in the draft CFRAM study, which is being conducted by the OPW, according to Ms Quinlivan. They include the completion of dredging and cleaning the old River Shannon at an area known locally as The Cut as well as changing the current course of where the Mulcair River cuts across the River Shannon to ensure it flows in the one direction. Another solution involves the completion of a new landbank about one mile behind houses in Sringfield with a sluice …