Wide range of Clare services affected by Storm Barra

WITH Storm Barra expected to make its presence felt increasingly throughout the day, a wide range of services in Clare have been cancelled or curtailed.

ESB Networks has been tackling power outages in the county from early this morning with a large disruption in Kilkee largely dealt with.

With conditions set to worsen however, the company has issued a warning about its capacity to address faults straight away.

A statement from the company said, “All internal resources are on alert and are responding to electricity outages once it is safe to do so. With a red weather warning in the Southwest in effect until tonight, and Co Clare until 1 am Wednesday morning, this means our crews may not be mobilised on the ground until the worst of the severe weather passes.”

There was a loss of power in Kilkee from 6.30am. Crews from ESB Network addressed the issue and by 12pm, power had been restored to most areas in the seaside town.

Crews also restored power after faults in Kilrush and Cratloe.

They have also issued the following advice.
Stay Safe, Stay Clear of fallen electricity wires. Report any damage to network by calling 1800 372 999
As of 9.45am, more than 59,000 electricity customers remain without power across the country
Safety of public and crews is critical. ESB Networks will be making safe faults throughout the day and restoring supply remotely and on site when safe to do so
Check Estimated Restoration times or report an outage on Powercheck.ie

Power outage this morning here at the substation in Kilkee… ESB crews working to sort it out…
To check for updates the below website is useful. https://t.co/q2l2ZLC2ix pic.twitter.com/Ky77X0fMzl

— Cllr. Cillian Murphy (@CllrCMurphy) December 7, 2021

There has been a big impact on local health and travel services, details of which can be found below.

Due to the forecast impact of Storm Barra, there will be no COVID-19 testing conducted on Tuesday, December 7 in the three test centres operated by HSE Mid West Community Healthcare, namely:
· Ennis COVID-19 Testing Centre, Ballymaley Business Park, Ennis, Co. Clare. Nenagh COVID-19 Testing Centre, Old Castlebrand Factory, Tyone, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary. Limerick COVID-19 Testing Centre, Eastpoint Business Park, Ballysimon Road, Limerick.

People who have already booked appointments or have been allocated appointments for tomorrow will be contacted via text message and offered new times for their tests on Wednesday, December 8.

UL Hospital Grouo has advised, “Worsening weather means cancellation of all outpatient appointments across the six hospitals in our Group and all three vaccination centres from 2pm.”

#StormBarra on our latest satellite loop.

Follow local safety advice ⚠️ℹ️ https://t.co/XGJxZFd5UU pic.twitter.com/SdrDv8DWoO

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 7, 2021

All routine mental health service appointments across Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary are cancelled today, as a result of Storm Barra.

These include CAMHS appointments, adult and specialist services. Mental health teams will be in touch with patients to advise

The crisis service remains operational through the Emergency Department at University Hospital Limerick

#StormBarra will bring disruptive weather to Ireland today and tomorrow, with impacts from severe, damaging winds as well as heavy rain. #Wind and #rain warnings are in place across Ireland 🍃⚠️☔️ pic.twitter.com/xAUnCLzYpa

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) December 7, 2021

The offices and facilities of Clare County Council, including civic amenity sites and digital hubs, will be closed on Tuesday, December 7.

Clare County Council will be monitoring the situation for any changes in the weather forecast and will issue further updates.

A spokesperson for Shannon Airport said: “The first scheduled flight of the day, a Ryanair flight to Tenerife departed Shannon Airport this morning at 7.21am. However, Aer Lingus services from and to Heathrow Airport scheduled for later this afternoon (EI 385 and EI386) have been cancelled due to the expected severity of storm Barra.

“There have been no further confirmed flight cancellations yet, and we are awaiting updates from our airlines. However, as a status RED weather warning for County Clare is due to come into effect today, we strongly advise intending passengers to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. Flight information will be posted on all Shannon Airport social media platforms and the airport website as it becomes available.”

The AIB group has said it will not be opening any of its AIB or EBS branches.

“We are keeping the situation under review,” according to a statement. Customers can view any updates at aib.ie and ebs.ie.

Bus Eireann will be running a reduced number of services in County Clare today, though school transport services will not operate.

Service changes can be found below:

Service 350 the 07:15 Nogra – Galway rtn 17.00 Galway – Nogra will operate as normal. All other route 350 services are cancelled Tuesday, December 7. Expressway Route 51 will operate between Galway and Limerick only with last departures 13:05 ex Galway 13:25 ex Limerick. Expressway Route 51 services which will operate can be found below.

07.05 Ex Galway to Limerick; 08.05 Ex Galway to Limerick; 09.05 Ex Galway to Limerick; 10.05 Ex Galway to Limerick; 11.05 Ex Galway to Limerick; 12.05 Ex Galway to Limerick; 13.05 Ex Galway to Limerick; 07.25 Ex Limerick to Galway; 08.25 Ex Limerick to Galway; 09.25 Ex Limerick to Galway; 10.25 Ex Limerick to Galway; 11.25 Ex Limerick to Galway; 12.25 Ex Limerick to Galway; 13.25 Ex Limerick to Galway.

The following stage carriage services will operate in Clare until 1pm and will be cancelled thereafter for the remainder of Tuesday, December 7.

Operating to 1pm only: Service 333, 336, 341, 343 & 343x, 345.

Please check Met Éireann for updates.