Rivers burst banks to flood towns

TORRENTIAL overnight rain caused flooding throughout Kerry yesterday.

Rivers burst their banks and large pools of water lodged on roads, while businesses and private houses were also flooded.

Tralee, Dingle and parts of north Kerry, including Ballyduff village, were among the worst-hit areas.

Well-known Dingle publican Fergus O’Flaherty found the flagged floor of his Bridge Street premises flooded to a depth of 16 inches when he opened for business, with empty beer kegs floating around.

“We’ve not seen flooding like this for 25 to 30 years, but it would have been much worse if the tide had been coming in,” he said.

“The floor of the bar is under sea level and the water seemed to come up through the stones. The Mall river, which flows through the town, was showing us that it’s still around.

“Thank God there was nobody hurt, or anything like that, and we’re examining power points and other electrical devices to ensure everything is all right.”

Flooding was also reported in the Ventry area and Dingle CBS closed for the day because of difficulties in transporting students.

There was also flooding in the Ballymullen, Ballyseedy and Ballinorig areas of Tralee. Also affected was the Killarney area, especially around Muckross Church.

In south Kerry, there was flooding on the Caherciveen/Waterville road, exacerbated around the bridge over the Inny river by a rising tide.

Hundreds of acres of farmland in low-lying areas around Kerry were also affected.