Tag Archives: flooding

  By Owen Ryan TRAIN services between Ennis and Limerick are likely to resume on Tuesday as flood water has receded, while all the residents of Ballycar are now able to drive back to their homes. Iarnród Éireann spokesperson Barry Kenny said that divers had inspected the floods at Ballycar this week. There are plans to run a test train through the area on next Monday and all going well normal services will resume on Tuesday. “We’re no longer an island!” said Ballycar resident Hilary Gough, who is relieved that the entrance to her home is no longer flooded. She said that while her own house was isolated for exactly 13 weeks the problem has abated, but she wants Clare County Council to make sure the problem doesn’t recur the next time there is sustained heavy rain. “I’m absolutely determined that this should not happen again. There have been reports that there will be round table talks with the OPW …

By Peter O’Connell FARMERS affected by coastal flooding in Farrihy , which straddles the border between Kilkee and Doonbeg, have had to hire a private contractor to help save 300 acres of land extensively flooded in the January and February flooding. “The farmers have taken it on themselves because their land was getting worse and worse. Every time the tide comes in three feet of their land is removed. It is reaching the stage now where it’s going to reach the bog area of the land,” Coastal Erosion Group PRO Tommy Comerford said. “The flooding has just absolutely destroyed the whole place. What they have done is they have got their own private machine in. They’re doing it out of their own pocket to try and protect the piece of land that’s getting damaged. Doonbeg regards this as a real emergency,” he added. Mr Comerford has revealed that a land and householder in Farrihy, Gearóid Greene, has had to spend …

THE railway line between Limerick and Ennis will remain closed for six weeks, and potentially longer, due to flooding on the line at Ballycar. Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail advised on Tuesday that instead bus transfers will operate between Limerick and Ennis, also serving Sixmilebridge, for the duration of the closure. Buses will depart all stations at the scheduled train time. Train services will, however, continue to operate as normal between Ennis and Galway. 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. according to Iarnród Éireann. Iarnród Éireann 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 least 50 centimetres over …

RESIDENTS in Kilbaha are angry that the main access road to the Loop Head village has been cut off. An 80 metre stretch of the road has been badly damaged in the recent storms and floods. The Kilrush Area Office of Clare County Council closed the road on Saturday morning February 1 in the immediate aftermath of Storm Bridget. The council said this was “to safeguard the wellbeing of the general public and motorists.” Bollards were put in place to provide pedestrian access along the seafront. An alternative route has been put in place to provide access to the Loop Head Peninsula west of Kilbaha. The road in Kilbaha was extensively damaged by Storms Christine and Bridget. “On Saturday evening it appears a member of the local community removed concrete bollards that had been put in place by the council. The council this morning once again closed off the road in the interests of public safety,” a county council statement issued on Monday …

By Nicola Corless FARMERS are calling on the OPW and Galway County Council to clear drainage channels leading from Kiltartan to the sea at Kinvara, as high water levels have left hundreds of acres of land flooded. According to Councillor Gerry Finnerty, “There are a number of houses and a number of farm sheds under threat”. “In the Tarmon, Cahermore, Ballylee, Peterswell, Ballinastague and Coole areas, there is very, very high ground water levels,” he explained. “Anywhere the small schemes have been done, like in Shanaglish, and with the clearing of the river in Gort, things have improved. They are very small schemes but they have been very effective. When you see the bigger picture though, when the water is going down from Gort to Kiltartan, acres and acres of land has been flooded in Kiltartan and Cahermore. The water is blocking the road at Cahermore and Ballinastague and that is only three miles as the crow flies from the …

WATER levels in Dooras, O’Callaghan’s Mills have risen to a new high this week, as flooding along the access road reached the four foot mark. With only a few days reprieve, residents of the four houses on this stretch of road have endured five weeks of surface water surrounding their homes. One family moved out over the Christmas period and a second family has now made the decision to also move. Of those who remain, an 88-year-old woman remains trapped in her home. Her son, Ger Mulqueen, is living with her and trying to maintain a farm, while another resident, James Peppard, continues to live there to look after his animals. Locals have had to resort to using a boat to access their homes and to bring in meal and nuts to their cattle, as the road remains submerged and the bog behind them becomes more dangerous to traverse, with each rain shower. Helen Mulqueen, whose mother-in-law is 88 and …

SENATOR  Martin Conway, on this Wednesday, welcomed comments from the office of the EU’s Regional Policy Commissioner, Johannes Hahn, that Ireland can still apply for assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund. “I am greatly encouraged that the Regional Policy Commissioner has advised that Ireland can apply for funding within the deadline provided if it informs the Commission that additional information will be submitted at a later point. “The EU Solidarity Fund was created in response to severe flooding in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and France during the summer of 2002. “It is possible to access this funding if the majority of a population of a region are hit by serious and lasting effects in living conditions and stability, a definition which could certainly be applied to the destruction which has been wrought on coastal communities and low lying areas around the country,” the Fine Gael senator stated. He urged the Government to push ahead with an application to this …

AS Clare County Council tots up the massive bill for the combined damaged caused by storms Christine and Bridget,  Met Éireann has forecast worse if still to come in terms of flooding. The local authority says most areas affected by severe weather in early January were again affected by the weekend storm with further structural damage reported along Clare’s Atlantic coastline and at some locations along the Shannon Estuary. Some remedial flood defence works carried out in recent weeks have been significantly undone in places as a result of the weekend weather, including at The Flaggy Shore, Seafield, and Kilbaha. Lahinch promenade  remains closed to the public until further notice after the walkways and seawall suffered further damage at the weekend. A number of other locations, which were not significantly affected by previous storms, have suffered infrastructural damage and flooding including Kilkee, Spanish Point and Moyasta. The  focus is on the cleanup of storm affected areas in addition to  remedial works …