Thousands of homes went without electricity for several hours last night as a result of the severe weather.
Some 750 households in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford and its environs were without electricity for a time yesterday. Other places to be hit by power cuts were Kilkenny, Sunday's Well in Cork city, Macroom and Crosshaven in Co Cork and Arklow in Co Wicklow.
"It seems to have been the south-west and the south-east that was most seriously affected in terms of lines being down and a loss of power supply but our crews responded promptly and we had power restored to most homes within a matter of hours," said an ESB spokesman.
Last night, the ESB said that it estimated that almost 3,000 customers had lost power during the course of the day but they expected to have power restored to all but 120 homes before midnight.
Elsewhere, a man was airlifted to safety by a Coast Guard helicopter after he became stranded on the Bull Wall at the entrance to Dublin Port yesterday afternoon.
The alarm was raised just after midday when the man, a Dutch national, was spotted stranded at the wall. After a Dublin Port pilot boat made a number of unsuccessful attempts to reach the man, a Coast Guard helicopter was called in.
According to a Dublin Coast Guard spokesman, the man, was winched off the wall at 12.40 p.m. and taken to Dublin Airport. He was not injured.
"The helicopter was dispatched from Dublin Airport and the man was lifted just before 12:45 and taken back to the airport. He was fine when he got there," the spokesman told The Irish Times.
The Coast Guard warned the public in a statement last night to proceed with caution when near coastal areas.
"People are advised to stay away from harbours, piers, jetties, cliffs, coastal walkways and exposed areas due to the increased risk of being swept away by large waves and strong winds," the statement said.