Residents of the Old Bridge area of Clonmel are accustomed to floods. But nothing had prepared them for the experience of the past three days.
Although his own bungalow at Spring Garden had not been flooded before, Mr David Clancy knew by 9 p.m. on Sunday that disaster loomed.
It had rained from 9.30 a.m., and by 9 p.m. the Suir river had risen almost three metres.
Before going to bed he borrowed beer crates from his local pub. With his wife, Marie, and his two sons he put beds, chairs, a table, electrical equipment and other household items on top of the crates before the family moved to a room in the attic for the night.
"I didn't sleep. By three o'clock I could see the water coming in. You'd think it would come in the front door, but it didn't. It came in the back, which is higher. We had a few sandbags at the front and I suppose they made the difference."
By 5 a.m. the water had risen to four inches and the family moved to Mr Clancy's sister's house.
At the same time his next-door neighbour, Mr John O'Brien, a member of Civil Defence, returned to find his home in a similar state. "He was even worse off because he had spent the night evacuating other people from their homes and hadn't had time to look after his own."
When Mr Clancy returned at midday on Monday the water was still six inches deep in the house. Overnight the level had risen to 20 inches, and even with the crates water had seeped into the bases of the beds.
He received an even bigger jolt yesterday when an insurance company surveyor told him his internal walls may have been irreparably damaged. His insurance company has said it will cover him for the rent of another house until they are repaired.
Mr Brian O'Donnell, the Mayor of Clonmel, said at least 100 homes had been damaged by the floods, many of them for the first time. "People say it was the worst flooding since 1946, which was the worst year on record. It was unbelievable."
People still managed to look on the bright side. Ms Mary Clancy, the secretary of the Old Bridge Community Association, said the new sewage treatment plant had made a difference "to the quality of the water coming into the houses". At least this time residents would not have to cope with the "stink" which had hung around for months after previous floods.
Her son had planned to park his car on high ground, but the spot had been taken by a neighbour before he got there. Then the river crashed through a wall nearby and swept his neighbour's car away.
