St Patrick's Church in Dublin's Ringsend had to close its doors to flood victims yesterday as the curate ran out of cheques. Father Gerry Corcoran dispensed more than €170,000 in the morning to people whose homes were destroyed in last weekend's floods and expects to give out about another €50,000 on Monday.
In the East Wall area, similarly affected by floods, the church has given out about €100,000 and expects to dispense another €30,000 by early next week.
In Ringsend, Father Corcoran announced the aid, of €1,000 per household, at the community centre on Wednesday afternoon. By 10 a.m. yesterday there was a queue down the stairs from the vestry in the local St Patrick's Church, out past the altar and down the aisle as householders lined up to collect the aid.
At about 11.30 a.m. new arrivals were asked to come back in the afternoon. However, when they arrived at 2.30 p.m. a notice told them there would be no more cheques until Monday.
"I ran out of cheques. Simple as that," explained Father Corcoran. "And the bank couldn't get me more until Monday."
He said more than 170 cheques had been given out, and he expected to sign another "50-plus on Monday".
The initiative, he said, came from the Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Desmond Connell, whose office would underwrite whatever Father Corcoran gave out. The offer was open to anyone, he went on, whose homes have been badly damaged in the parish."Religion, creed or race - that doesn't enter into it," he added. The church is using the register of electors to ascertain who is living in each house.
"This is not compensation," stressed Father Corcoran. "This is very basic aid for people who are out of pocket because they have to eat out of home, have to buy clothes. One thousand euro is not going to go any way to rebuilding people's homes. This is just humanitarian aid. Compensation," he said, "is a a matter for Government."
Among those who got a cheque yesterday was Ms Maureen O'Brien, of Stella Gardens - the worst affected area in Ringsend.
Her home has been destroyed. "All this has to come up," she said pointing towards sodden floor tiles in the kitchen area. "Everything is gone - the tele, the suite of furniture in the living room, the CD player, the kitchen presses and all the utensils. I have insurance but I don't know if I have it for contents. The assessor has to come out."
In East Wall, the parish priest, Father Aidan Mackey, has given out "about €100,000" over the past few days and expects to give out "about another €30,000".
He had been calling door-to-door over the past few days offering help. He would be deciding "how best to reach others" today, he said.
Engineers building the Dublin Port Tunnel are investigating the possibility that it might be vulnerable to flooding if storms like those witnessed on the east coast last weekend hit again, writes Joe Humphreys. Project engineer Mr Sean Wynne said he would be "more than surprised" if the plans had to be revised to take account of the danger.
