Violent winds in excess of 90 m.p.h. were recorded by Met Eireann last night, while waves of up to 40ft battered the north and west coasts, bringing hazardous sea conditions and localised flooding, write James Fitzgerald, Lorna Siggins and Joe Humphreys
In the North, the storm claimed the life of a lorry-driver whose articulated truck was blown off the Foyle Bridge in Derry at around 2.30 p.m. The man was killed instantly when his truck fell more than 100ft on to mudflats.
Another Derry lorry-driver was injured when his vehicle overturned at the Faughan bridge on the Derry-Limavady road and crashed into a car. The car driver, a pregnant woman, was slightly injured, and the lorry-driver had to be cut free by fire officers.
The ESB said that about 7,000 of its customers in the west were without power yesterday evening and, although repair crews were working on fallen lines, it is thought that several hundred homes spent the night without electricity.
The strongest reported gust in the State, measuring 97 m.p.h., was at Belmullet, Co Mayo. But a spokesman for Met Eireann indicated it was likely gusts in excess of 100 m.p.h. were felt in some exposed places.
A wave of about 40ft (12 metres) was recorded by a weather buoy 40 miles off the coast of Galway, and sustained winds in excess of 70 m.p.h. were experienced in several sea areas.
Some schools in the west and north-west were closed yesterday in anticipation of the storm, while motorists were advised to avoid any non-essential journeys.
Mr Pat Clarke of Met Éireann said the storm would abate gradually today, with winds decreasing to light-moderate by evening. However, he said there could be further coastal flooding, with sea swells of 6-8 metres expected off the west and north coasts.
"Between December and February, we tend to get a few Atlantic storms, and we have often had gusts as high if not higher than these. Our Malin Head station recorded 96 knots, which is almost 120 m.p.h., in December 1998," Mr Clarke noted.
Lieut Cdr John Leech, chief executive of Irish Water Safety, said the low pressure area had taken a more northerly track than anticipated by meteorologists yesterday, and the worst of the storm had occurred at sea.
Gusts of up to 74 m.p.h. were recorded at Dublin Airport, causing disruption to flights and some cancellations. Two Ryanair flights to London were cancelled due to severe winds, but according to the airline all passengers were accommodated on later flights.
An Aer Lingus flight from Amsterdam which was due to land at Dublin Airport at 2.20 p.m. was diverted to Shannon, and a later flight from Liverpool was forced to land at Belfast. Passengers on both flights were brought by bus to Dublin. All Aer Arann flights to and from its regional airports were cancelled.
The storm forced Stena Line to cancel its 9.15 p.m. sailing from Dublin to Holyhead last night. Ferries due to travel from Larne to Stranraer were also cancelled along with several small coastal services.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, said his officials had contacted county managers in vulnerable areasto ensure necessary arrangements were put in place.