Kerry has 'never seen snow fall so continuously for so long'

Driving conditions remain hazardous throughout Kerry, with Kerry County Council urging motorists to 'only travel if necessary'

Mon, 06 Jan, 2025 - 12:44

Imasha Costa

Parts of Kerry saw levels of snowfall that had never previously been seen over the weekend, according to locals.

Education Minister Norma Foley told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Monday she had never seen the "level of snowfall" they saw in the county on Sunday.

Thousands have been left without power across the country following heavy ice and snow over the weekend. More wintry showers are on the way after Met Éireann issued a fresh countrywide snow and ice warning. The warning is in place until midday on Tuesday.

Labour councillor in the Killarney area Marie Moloney said she had "never seen snow fall so continuously for so long".

She added she was confined to her home over the weekend due to the steep hill outside her home. She said the snow that accumulated near her home measured up to five inches.

"There was also a video of trees being pulled down by the weight of the snow outside Killarney, it was quite a heavy snowfall," Ms Moloney added.

The store manager at Sheahan's Centra on Killarney's Main Street, Magda Fudyma, said they remained open as normal but were not too sure what time they may end up closing the store.

She added the shop was "very quiet" on Monday, adding the footpaths in town were "dangerous".

Killarney National Park on Sunday morning.

Local councillor Jackie Healy-Rae said Kilgarvan and Kenmare did not see much snow but did get a "light sprinkle of it"

"There are some places in Kilgarvan that did see snow, but the low-lying areas did not see much. But if you moved to Killarney and North Kerry, you would see significant snowfall," he said.

Mr Healy-Rae agreed it was one of the worst snowfalls they had seen.

The councillor said Ms Foley's statement was 100% correct and "there are places in this county that had never seen snow" that are seeing it now. He said he spoke to one person who said he got "14 inches of snow in his backyard".

Councillor Paul Daly said the roads were "tricky enough" on Monday morning and saw people walking on the roads instead of the footpaths due to compacted snow in Tralee.

He added the heavy snowfall "all came within 24 hours" and that it happened "very quickly."

"There was no sign of it, there was no build-up of it. It happened very very quickly, overnight on Saturday night into Monday morning," Mr Daly added.

Killarney during heavy snowfall on Sunday.

Driving conditions remain hazardous throughout Kerry and a number of roads were closed on Monday morning, with Kerry County Council urging motorists to "only travel if necessary" and to not travel on closed roads or high mountain passes.

All 741km of priority routes were treated twice overnight and snow ploughs were deployed to clear national routes.

"Snow in low-lying areas melting but a lot of snow on the ground in parts of Mid, North and East Kerry," a Kerry County Council spokesperson said.

Watch: Heavy snow blankets large parts of the country