The chairman of the Heritage Council's architectural committee, Mr David Slattery, expects that its phones will be ringing this morning with distress calls from owners of historic buildings. Insurance companies are also bracing themselves for what could amount to an avalanche of claims for storm damage.
"There's no doubt that some historic buildings in substandard condition which were awaiting funds for repairs have probably suffered considerable damage," Mr Slattery told The Irish Times. "These would be buildings with slates gone from the roof which were already at risk of not surviving the winter."
The Heritage Council has been allocated an extra £500,000 towards its grants scheme for architecturally important buildings. But that sum was intended to help clear its current backlog of cases rather than to deal with new appeals from property owners facing repair bills after the storm.
Mr Slattery said the increasing frequency of storms - which may be linked with global climate change - had already brought about changes in the design of new buildings, particularly in terms of roof pitches, in an effort to protect them against wind speeds higher than 80 m.p.h.
A spokesman for Hibernian Insurance said storm damage was an "integral part" of the vast majority of insurance policies for domestic or commercial buildings. Most reputable companies also offer a helpline service to put people in touch with contractors to carry out emergency repairs.
Mr Malcolm Hughes, chief executive of Farrell and Associates, a leading Dublin firm of loss adjusters, said the biggest problem facing householders who suffered storm damage would be to find a contractor, given that the building industry is officially on holiday until next Monday.
He also believed that roofing contractors would be reluctant to carry out major repairs "until the weather dies down". And with another storm forecast for tomorrow, running into New Year's Eve, he expected it would take some time before much of the damage to buildings is finally repaired
Mr Hughes expects that last week's storm would be the most significant he has had to deal with, primarily because the damage was so widespread. "The payout will be much higher than for Hurricane Charlie," he predicted.
Many claims are expected to include compensation for food which defrosted in home freezers during electricity cuts. These will be against the insurance companies rather than the ESB. Mr Hughes pointed out that the removal of fallen trees is not covered unless they have caused damage to buildings.
He stressed that no insurance company would seek to evade claims under a household policy by defining the storm as an "act of God". Such a defence could prove useful, however, to a householder against a public liability claim from a passer-by who had been injured by slates falling from a roof.
Trees have been the major casualties of last week's storm. The arboretum on Fota Island, Co Cork, has lost some of its older specimen trees, including some exotic varieties. "Trees are down all over the place", said Mr Barney Whelan, a spokesman for the ESB, who had been touring the worst affected areas, including West Cork. "Ash, beech, sycamore and other native hardwoods have been brought down everywhere, particularly in exposed hilly areas and up side roads."
The storm inevitably hit farmers. Cowsheds in hillside locations had their roofs blown off. There was also damage to sea defences on the shoreline, particularly around Youghal and Dungarvan.
The ESB's work to restore power lines was hampered in many places by fallen trees. Emergency crews had to carry new poles up the side of Mount Eagle, in Co Limerick, because fallen trees and hilly terrain prevented access by vehicles, including JCBs.
More trees are likely to be felled by the storm forecast for tomorrow or Wednesday. Last week's storm was south-easterly, veering south-westerly; the next one is forecast to be a north-westerly. Trees which survived Christmas Eve may be felled by high winds from the opposite direction.
But it's an ill wind that blows no good. Ten years ago, when a similar storm ravaged southern England, environmentalists initially regarded its impact on the landscape as catastrophic. The latest view, however, is that it had a regenerative effect by getting rid of so many old trees.