Rueful Dublin residents see homes ravaged by floodwater

Paddy Oglesby had an overnight bag packed by his front door yesterday. But he hoped he wouldn't have to use it

Paddy Oglesby had an overnight bag packed by his front door yesterday. But he hoped he wouldn't have to use it. "I'll go if needs be, but I'd rather stay. You don't want to walk out if you can help save your house," he said.

Like other homes on Dublin's Clonliffe Road, his was accessed by stepping over a heap of muddied sandbags. "They stop a certain amount of dirt, but not the water. That just seeps through."

Inside, past a water-stained door, which had been fitted, he noted ruefully, just two weeks ago, was a small flight of steps leading to a passage where, at 1.30 a.m. yesterday, the first portents of disaster could be seen.

"That's where the water came through at first - in through the wall," he said, pointing to the damp lino and skirting board. "Then, all of a sudden, it came in through the back wall. It was like a tap being turned on. Within three minutes, we were flooded."

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By lunchtime yesterday the water had subsided, but there were fears that this was only a temporary respite.

Some elderly neighbours had been evacuated to an emergency accommodation centre in Finglas. "They wanted us to go too," said Mr Oglesby. "But I said I'd hang on, even though I can't cook, as the power-points have gone."

A couple of doors away, Mr Seán McNamee had also turned down the invitation to evacuate. "I decided to stay with the ship," he remarked as he led a visiting evaluator into his kitchen to assess the damage. "I reckon there's at least €12,000 worth here," Mr McNamee said.

Across the street in Clonliffe House, a local hostelry, the back lounge had been turned into one of a number of contact points for residents at the behest of the City Council. There, with some local authority employees, stood Labour Party TD Mr Joe Costello and Sinn Féin councillor Mr Christy Burke, both rain-sodden after a long night delivering sandbags.

The latter at one point had to travel up Tolka Road in the bucket of a JCB. "I was on Distillery Road when the river burst its banks. The water came at us at about 50 miles an hour. That was frightening," Mr Burke said.

In nearby Drumcondra village, another City Council contact point had been set up at the Taoiseach's constituency office, St Luke's. There, one could get a drop of hot tea and plenty of sympathy. "The worst is only starting for these people," said Mr Kieran Cunningham, senior executive officer with the council. "The clean-up is going to take some time."

Some 27 residents were moved to the Finglas shelter early yesterday, and up to 40 were due to stay there last night, he said. "The one thing we promise is that no one will be left without accommodation."

Among those finding their own place to stay was Mr Donal Reilly, who had to wade through a foot of water in his work clothes to reach his home at Millmount Terrace. "It's a mess in there," said Mr Reilly on his return to dry land with a ruck-sack of belongings on his back. "But I've a place to stay, with friends, so it's not so bad."

A more fortunate local resident, Mr Gerry McAllister, emerged in a pair of wellington-boots. "A neighbour dropped them in to me this morning," he beamed. "It's the first time I've been out in a day and a half."

A resident of the area for 14 years, he said he believed the floods had been partly caused by a build-up of debris and undergrowth in the river, which meant that its channel had been "narrowed by half". He added: "We have been writing to Bertie and other local politicians for two years now, looking for the river to be dredged, but nothing was done."

Joe Humphreys

Joe Humphreys

Joe Humphreys is an Assistant News Editor at The Irish Times and writer of the Unthinkable philosophy column