A Co CLARE farmer has became a victim of the current bad weather after he drowned in a flooded field near his home in Kilcorney, Ballyvaughan, on Tuesday night. The 67-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was found by a neighbour tending cattle yesterday morning. Insp Michael Gallagher, of Ennistymon Garda station, said gardai believe the man fell into the field while walking along a wall after abandoning his car due to flooding. He was trying to make his way home at the time. A post mortem was carried out at Ennis General Hospital last night. The results are expected within days.
Reports from around the country yesterday indicated that flooding was receding in the badly-hit areas of Munster and south Leinster, with less rain falling than in previous days.
Gardai in Cork reported no flooding, with traffic running smoothly. In Limerick, where it rained, there were no reports of major flooding, with Clare Street in the city again open to traffic.
Waterford gardai reported slight flooding on the quay near the clock tower. It was "still teeming out of the heavens" there. In Galway city, where it was dry, traffic was reported as "chaotic", particularly on the Headford Road.
Land along the River Deel, at Rathkeale and Newcastlewest, Co Limerick, remained flooded yesterday.
AA Rescue reported no serious problems, even in Co Wicklow and Co Wexford, which were described as "atrocious" on Tuesday.
Met Eireann said yesterday that the worst of the weather appeared to be over, with some showers forecast for the south and south-east again today, but far less than earlier in the week.
Some showers may also fall in the north and north-west, areas which escaped this week's heavy rain.
Preliminary rainfall figures for the first five days of this month, up to and including Tuesday, indicate that 142mm of rain fell at Rosslare, 106mm fell in Cork, "nearly 100mm" at Shannon, 92mm in Kilkenny, 87mm at Roches Point, 74mm at Birr, "nearly 30mm" at Valentia, 19mm at Casement Aerodrome, 17mm at Mullingar, 16mm at Dublin, 7mm at Belmullet, 5.8mm at Malin Head, and just 4mm at Clones.
Over the period, Rosslare had twice its average August rainfall, with Shannon, Roches Point, Cork, and Kilkenny getting "substantially over" their August average.
The wettest day in those parts was Sunday, when 87mm fell in Cork, 69mm at Roches Point, 59mm at Rosslare, and 44mm fell at Shannon.
A Met Eireann forecaster said last night that, although the weather would remain changeable, it would clear up by Sunday. In the meantime, cloudy weather was expected from the north-west on Friday and Saturday.
Figures for July reveal that it was drier than normal. It was also warmer than normal everywhere, with sunshine levels above average.
