‘At this stage, to have no power or water is madness’: Kildare householders struggle in aftermath of Storm Éowyn

Clogherinkoe GAA club in Co Kildare threw opens its doors on Monday as an emergency relief hub for people affected by Storm Éowyn.

“It is sad people have to go out and get their meals and not be able to prepare their own food at home,” said Ella Smullen, who works at the club located in north Kildare, near the Meath and Offaly border.

“We had a good few in last night charging their phones, just to see people. Lots of people live on their own.”

The nearby village is known as Clogharinka or Cloch an Rince – the place of the dancing stones – a name that took on new meaning with Storm Éowyn creating its own wild energy late last week.

Residents in the nearby areas of Clonuff and Broadford have been particularly badly affected, with residents having no electricity, water and phone coverage since Friday night.

Larry Malone (52) from Cornamucklagh is one such resident.

“Most of the people in the area are driving to the plaza in Kinnegad to get food,” he said, referring to a popular fuel stop that has plenty of places to eat.

“Every morning we go in, we meet local people going in to charge up their phones, to get a cup of tea or coffee.”

He counts himself lucky that he can boil water on a gas hob and has a gas fire.

Mr Malone is concerned at the predicament of elderly residents on one estate in Broadford, built in 1972, where there are 10 residents in their 70s and 80s.

“Since Friday night, Saturday morning, they have had no ESB, water and the internet is blocked on their phones,” he said.

[ Storm Éowyn: More than 130,000 customers still without electricity, ESB saysOpens in new window ]

The residents had no contact from the ESB or Kildare County Council.

“In this day and age, at this stage, to have no power or water is madness,” he said.

Padraig Gravin (74), a farmer from Clonuff, has had no water and no heat in the house.

“The phones are sort of working in the last day or two. The lack of water is affecting the farming in a big way,” he said.

Cooking has become a haphazard affair, “going from house to house that has electricity”, he said.

Despite the challenges, community spirit remains high. Mr Gravin said a new resident in the area used a compressor to pump water into attic heating systems of houses with central heating.

“One man down the road who is in a wheelchair and who had no heat or light or water – he went to him with the compressor,” said Gravin.

Local people have expressed frustration at not knowing when power and water will be restored. Mr Gravin said residents were supposed to get power and water back on Monday and then Tuesday evening.

“We were never as long without electricity before,” he said.