Weather conditions which caused widespread flooding across much of the country on Wednesday night and early yesterday morning are likely to be repeated tomorrow, Met Éireann has warned.
High winds and heavy rainfall in the early hours of yesterday combined to close a number of roads from Co Offaly to Wicklow and as far south as Mallow in Co Cork where some of the worst flooding was experienced.
In Kilkenny, a recently installed flood defence scheme on the river Nore prevented flooding of the city, but farther south the river burst its banks.
Thomastown was partially flooded and firemen and gardaí diverted traffic away from the quays and kept a watch on rising water levels.
At 4pm, as the Nore was still rising, the local fire station officer Paul Comerford said the situation "could have been worse" as there was no rain forecast for last night.
In Co Wicklow, a mudslide at a roadworks site during yesterday morning's torrential rain is to be examined by engineers from Wicklow County Council and the National Roads Authority this morning.
The mudslide was near a recently installed pedestrian bridge which is being provided as part of a new interchange between the N11 and a new dual carriageway serving Greystones.
The bridge is not yet open to the public.
Commuter traffic on the N11 was reduced to one lane and long delays in the early morning trip to Dublin were reported.
In Dublin, roads within the Phoenix Park were flooded while traffic congestion in the suburbs was particularly bad.
In north Cork, the river Blackwater burst its banks and caused several million euro worth of damage in Mallow and Fermoy.
In Mallow, the town park and Park Road were under several feet of water from the early hours of yesterday morning with floodwaters pouring through business premises on Bridge Street.
Cork County Council senior engineer for north Cork Aidan Weir said: "Bridge Street got it badly enough - it started going into the properties around eight o'clock this morning and all the premises from the Clock House were affected - it came in the back and out the front - it's just a disaster."
Mr Weir said Cork County Council was implementing a €34 million flood alleviation scheme for Mallow which was drawn up by the Office of Public Works aimed at preventing the low-lying areas of the town from being flooded.
Fermoy was also counting the cost after the Blackwater burst on to Ashe Quay at about 10am, quickly flooding the area with about four feet of water.
Flood waters continued to rise yesterday afternoon and last night, with Mill Road, Tallow Road, O'Neill Crowley Quay and Brian Boru Square all flooding.
Gardaí closed the Thomas Kent Bridge linking both sides of the town and diverted traffic on to the new Fermoy bypass at Watergrasshill heading north and at Moorepark coming south.
According to Mr Weir work is also due to commence later this year on a €30 million flood alleviation scheme for Fermoy.
The scheme is is aimed at preventing a repeat of the very bad flooding which hit the town in the late 1990s.
In Cork city, a woman had to be rescued from her car on Clash Road near Ballincollig.
Met Éireann said conditions today would be cold with icy roads and fog.
A spokeswoman said 35mls of water had been recorded at Valentia and Cork airport on Wednesday night/Thursday morning, while 25mls were reported at a number of other stations in Leinster and Munster.
She also warned similar conditions were on the way back and were expected to hit Ireland tomorrow.
