The centre of Dunmore, Co Galway, still had no mains electricity on Wednesday, six days after Storm Éowyn, and there was no indication of when it would be restored.
The only light or sound in the town was a generator and a hut next door to Glynn’s pub, where people had come to get hot water and power. The local SuperValu had sent food for locals, but it was not open either.
The only shop open was Dunmore Hardware, run by John Mulrennan, where locals come to get batteries and candles – if he has them. Without heat or power for the last six days, it was dark and as cold as a fridge.
He couldn’t get rid of the camping stoves and gas heaters before Storm Éowyn struck. “I had six months of gas supply for camping. It was gone in two days. I got in batteries, but they are all gone. People are annoyed now. You can’t get even a pint of milk in town.”
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What is an inconvenience for most people is a matter of life and death for sick people in the town.
Joan Comer is currently administering palliative care to her son Rory (28), who has brain cancer. She says the nurse who comes to give her son controlled drugs has to do so by candlelight.
“There’s a boil water notice now, just to insult us further. It’s awful because of the uncertainty. We were told January 28th, then 29th, then February 5th and now we are being told they can’t give a time,” she said.
“We are terrified administering the meds or that he will fall and we will not be able to get through to people. It is not like we are in the back of beyond, we are in town. Somebody has told us that there is a piece of equipment badly damaged in the Glenamaddy area, and they had to get the part from abroad.”
Storm Éowyn travelled northeast through Galway, making landfall at Mace Head and then cutting a path of devastation through the county, with north Galway being particularly badly affected.
The storm felled 200 Leylandii trees in a field outside Caherlistrane. Two diggers have been brought in clear away the mountains of timber. The operation will take days.
Local man Derek Burke said the trees “fell over like dominoes”, one on top of the other. The only tree still standing is bent at 45 degrees, its roots in the air.
In a nearby field an ash tree, which had stood there for 85 years, fell over like a bent twig. It could have been worse. Trees fell on two local houses, but didn’t do any damage.
In Headford, the impressive Moyne Villa FC grounds has been for several days the only place for locals to get a shower or a hot meal. Some 2,000 people have passed through the doors since Saturday morning, from as far away as Cong and Ballinrobe, Co Mayo, said facilities manager Jason Gavin.
“I am in the Ballinrobe area. There’s no facilities like that here, no power at all,” said club secretary Alan Cantwell.
The dressingroom showers have been in regular use. There is also a hub for remote workers.
Another dressingroom has been converted into a study room for local students preparing for their mock exams.
Club volunteer Sarah Martlew said the Government should learn lessons from the storm and designate places such as theirs as hubs to be supplied with generators in the event of a storm.
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