Storm Barney leaves thousands without power as crews begin repairs
Thousands of homes and businesses remain without power after storm-force winds battered the southern half of the country.
The vast majority of blackouts hit the south, west and south east, with a total of 15,000 customers reporting cuts overnight.
ESB Networks said crews worked until late on Tuesday night to make the network safe and restore power to 30,000 customers.
“Crews are being mobilised at first light and will continue to repair the electricity infrastructure and restore power to 15,000 customers who remain without electricity this morning,” a spokesman said.
Most of the damage was caused by trees and timber falling on to the network.
The worst-hit towns and villages were Thurles, Ennistymon, Ennis, Scarriff, Newcastlewest, Gorey, Enniscorthy, Baltinglas, Kilcullen, Mountrath, Kilmartin and Delvin.
At its height, Storm Barney had cut power to 45,000 homes and businesses.
The highest winds were recorded at Shannon Airport with operations disrupted by gales gusts of 128km/h, while offshore the highest wind speeds were recorded on the Fastnet Lighthouse with gusts up to 146km/h at 1pm on Tuesday.
ESB Networks said it expects contractors to have shifted fallen trees and its own crews to have restored power supplies to the majority of affected customers by the evening.
“However, there are high winds forecast for today also, and this could hamper the restoration process and cause additional faults,” the spokesman warned.
Met Eireann’s forecast for the day is for windy conditions, but not as severe as Tuesday.
Crews continue to work in all affected areas, making the electricity network safe and restoring power. Resources are being deployed from other areas of the country less impacted by the storm.
ESB Networks warned members of the public not to touch or approach any fallen wires and to report any damage to electricity infrastructure by calling 1850 372 999.
Updates on faults and estimated reconnection times are being posted online at esbpowercheck.ie and on theESBNetworks Twitter feed while customers can also call 1850 372 999 or await announcements on local radio.
With the clear-up under way, some of the worst damage was evident in Wicklow.
The roof of the Coral Leisure centre in Wicklow town was ripped off, forcing the management to shut down until further notice.
“Unfortunately the centre has suffered extensive damage due to the storm. We strongly advise all customers to avoid the centre and surrounding area at present for safety reasons,” the company said.
The roof of the GAA club in Rathnew was also destroyed.
Dublin Fire Brigade reported 128 trees were brought down by the storm and its crews also attended 13 calls to reports of broken electric cables.
Elsewhere in the capital, spot flooding occurred at the Tuning Fork in Rathfarnham and near the Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin.
