Forecasting gales and storms has been the business of the Sweeney family of Blacksod Lighthouse, Co Mayo, for generations. So when Fergus Sweeney says that Storm Éowyn “has definitely been the worst storm in years” he knows what he is talking about.
Indeed, the link to the weather station at the lighthouse was severed during the high winds in the early hours of Friday morning. This is the famous station where his late grandmother changed the course of the second World War with a forecast that caused the deferral of D-Day.
“Thankfully, on this occasion, while the seas were big, it was the high winds that caused the main impact. They reached 136km/h around 5am. There is widespread damage with roofs gone and electricity cables down all over the Mullet peninsula and Erris,” Sweeney said.
Down the Co Mayo coast in the relative shelter of Clew Bay, Pat Aylward was well prepared for the storm as his family home is right on the edge of the ocean, 8km from Westport. He said that the detail of the Met Éireann forecasts was really helpful.
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“These winds were the strongest we’ve ever experienced here. We lost electricity during the night but it was restored on Friday morning,” Aylward said.
However, he witnessed widespread damage when he travelled into Westport to check the family’s guest house in the early afternoon. “There were lots of trees and fencing down and ridge tiles blown off houses. Signage and bottle banks were blown around the place at Westport harbour with one boat blown off its cradle,” he said.
Meanwhile, across the bay, Clare islanders are counting the cost of the storm, with structural damage to houses. With all ferry services suspended, and boats sheltering at a safe harbour in Achill, any telephone communication to the island was negligible on Friday.
[ The impact of Storm Éowyn on Castlebar, Co Mayo and the surrounding areasOpens in new window ]
The main mainland harbour, at Roonagh, near Louisburgh, is notorious for its monstrous swells. On this occasion, it was the high winds that inflicted damage on a number of cars owned by islanders.
Clare Island ferry operator, Charles O’Malley, said: “This storm was one of the most severe we have ever experienced. We had to move our boats to Achill and Westport and our crews were checking and monitoring them since 5am this morning.
“As well as the damage to islanders’ cars in Roonagh, our cargo storage building lost its roof and is now a shell.”
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