High waves wash six cars out to sea and carry boats ashore in Galway

Six cars were washed out to sea at Cleggan in west Co Galway in one of the worst storms to hit the west in years.

The cars were parked close to the pier in the Connemara village which services Inishbofin and a small fishing fleet.

On Inishbofin, three cars parked near the pier were also washed out to seas.

Several roads in Connemara remained closed yesterday because of flooding, with the Ballyconneely area badly hit.

A coastal protection wall built in 1942 was breeched in Ballyconneely and houses in Aillebrack were cut off. The coastal villages of Barna, Furbo, and Spiddal also suffered extensively, with road surfaces and footpaths being damaged.

Three boats were washed ashore in Barna, while surfboards at a school in Rusheen Bay were washed out to sea but came ashore a few kilometres away close to the garda station in Salthill.

ESB crews worked restoring power to hundreds of homes in Moycullen, Oughterard, and Roubdstone, with most of the damage confined to Galway City and Connemara.

The Dream Wedding Exhibition, which was scheduled for this weekend in Salthill, has been postponed until next weekend as the Leisureland complex has been flooded and will be closed until Monday at least.

The Prom remained closed to traffic throughout yesterday as city council work crews cleared up tonnes of stones and seaweed. Sections of the Prom, which attracts thousands of walkers each day, have been damaged and repairs will need to be carried.

A concrete lifeboat station in Salthill was badly damaged in the storm.

“Following extensive flooding into Leisureland earlier, the complex will remain closed to the public until at least Monday,” said a spokesperson for Galway City Council. “This is to allow flooding to subside on site and also to carry out a technical assessment of damage to Leisureland’s plant room which provides heat and power to the pool, gym and other services.”

The streets and roads around the Fr Griffin Road, tje Spanish Arch, and Flood St and Docks area reopened to traffic during the day. Further flooding in the area is expected today, with high tides of 5.5m expected at 6.48am and 7.18pm, and tomorrow morning at 7.36am.

Council crews were in operation in those areas offering support, including distributing sandbags and clearing blocked drains and gulleys.

Labour councillor Neil McNeilus, whose jewellery and gift shop in the Spanish Arch area suffered extensive damage from flooding, said it was the worst he has witnessed in 15 years in business.

“The reality is that every cent we made before Christmas will now be spent on carrying out repairs and that is the same for a lot of businesses in Galway city,” he said.

Farmers were yesterday continuing to assess the damage to walls and fencing in coastal areas but loss of livestock was limited as animals were moved in advance of the storm.