2008 Ireland floods
The floods and related weather conditions primarily affected the following counties; Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Antrim, Carlow, Galway, Laois, Louth, Meath, Kildare, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Offaly, Sligo and Donegal.
Parts of Ireland's large urban centres, including Dublin and Belfast, were submerged, whilst Carlow town has experienced some of the worst flooding in the country.
On the night of 31 July/1 August, the River Blackwater in Cork burst its banks, causing severe flooding between Banteer and Mallow.
In Limerick, it took several hours before electricity was restored to 3,000 homes in Newcastle West, where a major clear-up operation was underway after the River Arra burst its banks earlier in the morning.
Up to 20 homes were badly affected by "freak" flash flooding overnight, with residents having to be rescued from their houses.
The areas affected by the boil notice included Newcastle West, Coolcappagh and Rathcahill and the Ballyine, Dually, Reens Kilscannell, Old Mill Road, Killoughteen and Killeline Group Water Supply Schemes.
The Newcastle West Business Association called on the government to help those worst affected by the flash floods of the previous day.
[4] Met Éireann claimed that the area around Newcastle West experienced the equivalent of four weeks rain in five hours.
"The combination of monsoon-like rain and a high-tide" prompted a spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade to report that crews spent most of the night rescuing people from houses and cars.
We wouldn’t generally get that many calls on Halloween.”[8] Hundreds of Armagh Gaelic football fans, attending the All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park, were stranded by torrential rain when they left the stadium to discover their cars surrounded by water.
Gardaí said flood water had subsided in most parts except for some areas in north county Dublin.
4,000 Scouts at Jamboree 2008 in Punchestown had to spend the night indoors after being removed by the Civil Defence to the major events centre on the site.
In County Laois the Ballyroan to Portlaoise Road was flooded at Cashel Cross after a river burst its banks.
On the M50 a bus full of people journeying to Dublin Airport was marooned in the floods and had to be pulled free with the aid of a tractor.
Two open manholes were reported; one at the Drumcondra/Home Farm Rd junction, another outbound on the Ballymun Road outside the library, resulting in a flooded bus lane.
Surface water and debris on the Killinarden side of the Killtipper Road at "a very bad bend" caused delays to motorists.
In County Kerry, the main Castleisland to Killarney road was impassable in the morning due to flooding, with some cars being stranded.
The three girls, aged between 15 and 17, awoke at 05:00 to discover their campsite had been washed away, with a swollen river determining the need for mountain rescue.
Elsewhere in the county, a man in his early 40s was killed as a result of a two-vehicle collision near Crossgar, with heavy rain blamed for the treacherous driving conditions.
[16] The Irish Insurance Federation said the cost of compensating the victims of the floods could reach tens of millions of euro.
[18] A section of one of the busiest roads in Northern Ireland,[19][20] the Westlink in Belfast, was closed after flooding put the new Broadway underpass under six metres of water.
[24] Northern Ireland's Environment Minister Sammy Wilson announced a compensation package for those whose homes were affected by the flooding.
Rising waters from the River Barrow led to over 100 people being evacuated from a four-storey apartment block on Centaur Street.
Parts of Carlow town were under almost two metres of flood water after the River Barrow burst its banks following heavy rainfall.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley, visited Carlow to view the crisis, and said that the contract for flood defences would proceed "as quickly as possible".
Staff at Winnie Dalgarno's flooded pet store in Graiguecullen had to take animals home when electricity was switched off.
Boil notices were also in place in parts of County Meath – Athboy, Kildalkey and Ráth Cairn – following the bursting of a river's banks.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's News at One, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley said despite the economic downturn, money would be made available to provide flood defences for Carlow whose flood waters were subsiding (although a number of streets remained closed with dozens of residents who were forced to leave their apartments still being housed in temporary accommodation).
The Office of Public Works said that contracts for flood defence systems would soon be finalised for towns such as Mallow, Ennis and Clonmel.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Tom Sherlock, principal officer of engineering services at the OPW, expressed confidence that new flood defence schemes already in place in some towns would hold for many years.
