Cattle drown after rescue workers’ 4-hour battle

SEVERAL cattle drowned after firefighters and rescue workers fought for four hours to save a herd of drowning cattle stranded in a field close to Rathkeale.

Assistant chief fire officer Carl Weaver of Limerick County Fire Service said six of the animals died as others in the traumatised herd were hoisted aboard rescue boats.

“We managed to save seven of 13 cattle,” he said.

“They were stranded in the flood water in a field near Rathkeale.”

The flash floods swamped thousands of acres of farm land in Munster, but warm sunshine and a fresh breeze yesterday helped speed up the drying process. Some cattle were brought indoors from the fields for a few days to enable the ground conditions to improve while others were moved to higher locations.

Bales of hay in flooded fields were damaged and second cut silage was also put at risk from the heavy rain in some areas.

West Limerick and north Cork were the worst hit by what was described as the worst August deluge for many years. Michael Doody, a member of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association’s national council from near Newcastlewest, County Limerick, said about 3.6 inches (91 millimetres) of rain fell in more than six hours.

He said that in 50 years farming he had never seen the likes of the torrential and prolonged rain that fell. However, the land was fairly dry and the water ran off it.

Mr Doody said the flooding caused havoc in the town, but the homes of some farmers living in low lying locations were also flooded.

People were evacuated in the country as well as in the town.