The streets of Dublin city centre were largely deserted early on Friday as commuters heeded warnings not to travel during Storm Éowyn.
Some 40,000 properties in the capital were without electricity on Friday as a result of the damage caused by the storm.
A red Met Éireann warning came into force in Dublin at 6am and expired at 11am. The county was then under a nationwide orange wind warning until noon before a less severe yellow warning kicked in until 4pm.
The Blanchardstown ice skating dome in Millennium Park collapsed as a result of the storm. It has been open since November 15th and was due to close this Sunday. Cool Running Events director Bill Cremin, who operates the business, said the structure blew down between 7am and 8am when Storm Éowyn was at its height in Dublin.
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The marquee has been a fixture of the Christmas season for the last 10 years and this is the first time it faced winds of this magnitude. There was nothing they could have done in the circumstances to have prevented the collapse, he said.
“Once the structure’s integrity was breached, you were looking at a series of events, but the damage got worse as the weather event continued,” Mr Cremin added. “On the face of it these marquees are quite resilient and they can cope with adverse weather, but not adverse weather with these winds and this severity.”
Donnybrook and Dolphins Barn firefighters are working to contain an oil leak near the River Dodder after a downed tree ruptured a tank. Crews used drain blockers and dams to contain the spill before starting to work with ESB Networks.
“As of 11.00 this morning, Dublin Fire Brigade has attended 35 storm-related calls for assistance during Storm Éowyn. These calls have involved trees and cables down, along with vehicles damaged by fallen trees, while some roads are blocked across the capital,” Dublin City Council said in a statement.
“In total there have been 77 calls for trees down, 7 for power cables down, 17 structures impacted and 6 roads blocked.”
A tree down at the entrance to Sutton Field-Ballybetagh in south county Dublin is causing significant disruption. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is reporting trees down also in Foxrock, Woodpark, Glenageary Road and Slate Cabin Lane.
A tree blocked one of the roads into St Vincent’s Hospital on Nutley Lane at around 5am. Dublin Fire Brigade also responded to fallen trees on the R132 near Swords and on Killininny Road in Firhouse. The Malahide Road was blocked near Myra Manor as a result of a car hitting a tree.
In Kilbarrack, fire fighters were called to uprooted underground cables which were exposed when a tree was downed during the storm overnight.
Departures and arrivals commenced at Dublin at 9.27am this morning while the red level warning was in place. The first arrival was shortly after 11.30am.
At 8am, winds were gusting at 120km/h at Casement Aerodrome. The weather station at the Phoenix Park was out of operation because of the storm. Wind speeds were expected to peak between 8am and 9am.
Dublin Bus services began shortly after the red warning was lifted, but there are diversions in place in some areas because of fallen trees. Irish Rail said there will be no intercity, Dart or commuter services until further notice while engineers check for fallen trees, damage to level crossings and overhead lines. Similarly, Luas has said neither its red nor green lines will be back operating until all the lines are inspected.
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