‘If it ever happens again we’ll be ready for it’

THE south Galway region was pounded last November, with floodwater failing to abate for several weeks.

The towns of Gort and Ardrahan were particularly hard hit and local residents Hughie O’Donnell, who also runs a business in Gort, and local Fine Gael Councillor Bridie Willers were caught in the deluge.

According to Hughie, it took quite some time to get over the trauma of the flooding.

“We are not back in the house yet. We recently got a letter from the OPW saying they were very sympathetic with our situation and there was nothing they could do at this point in time,” he said.

“Even if they did carry out works they wouldn’t be able to guarantee that further flooding would not take place.

“We can’t go back into the house. If I do it up there is a good chance it will flood again. And the OPW has confirmed that to me in writing.

“The only alternative is to go to higher ground.”

Cllr Willers, who was also driven from her home, is optimistic, but has her fingers firmly crossed that the deluge does not arrive again this year.

“I was out of my house for three months,” she says. “Every month we get an update of what is happening from the council. It is such a huge project and it looks like they are making progress.

“A lot of submissions have been made and a lot of money has been allocated for the minor works. There are a lot of small schemes on track and I’d imagine there would be a lot of work done by December.”

Meanwhile, Ballinasloe is back on it feet and preparing for whatever Mother Nature throws at it.

That was the message from local businessman Pearse Keller, whose family-run furniture shop was one of the worst-hit premises in the town, when the unprecedented floods struck.

Their family business, in operation for 50 years on Main Street in Ballinasloe, suffered flood damage for the first time last winter

Keller Hardware was under two feet of water this time last year as the town was brought to a standstill.

Pearse runs the furniture shop alongside his brother Bill.

In the immediate aftermath of last November’s flooding, the future looked grim, with over 60% of stock unsalvageable.

But thanks to an eagerness to recover and some get-up-and-go from the community, Keller’s of Ballinasloe, along with every other business in the town, has been restored to its former glory.

“The recovery took until the end of April for us,” said Pearse. “We lost 60% of our furniture stock on top of all the lost revenue from November to April.

“My Dad also has five townhouses in the town which was his nest egg of sorts and all the tenants had to move out due to flooding. They all had to be refurbished and in the mean time the tenants got themselves alternative accommodation so we took the hit on them too.”

But the family’s travel agency, Keller Travel, largely escaped the water damage and was able to continue its operations, while insurance cheques have helped the family get back on their feet.

But if the ‘worst’ ever does strike at the heart of the east Galway town again, Pearse says they will be in a far better position to react to the challenge.

“If it ever happens again we’ll be ready for it. We have learned as a business that we have to have an action plan in place.”