Shannon flooding: ‘We’re very stressed, we’re very worried’

Geraldine Quinlivan

“The water, to my mind, hasn’t receded any bit. We were fortunate the

ESB

didn’t release extra water– if they did all the homes would be under water.

“There’s five houses under immediate threat, and another five cut off. So far three families have moved out.”

The mother of four said her house in Springfield, Clonlara, in southeast Clare, was one of the few which has, as yet, survived the deluge.

However, with more rain forecast for the region, and further discharges of water from the ESB-operated dam gates at the Parteen Weir, the likelihood of the flood waters destroying her home is looming.

“In 2009 we were evacuated and the house was left cold for 10 days and the water was up around it. The doors were all warped.”

Her husband Joe and their three sons Jason (20), John (19) and Evan (18) are doing everything they can to help the emergency services sandbag the property.

“The Army and the council came out last night along with the Clare fire service, and the Civil Defence came out, and they spent most of the night here sandbagging. We’re very stressed and very worried.”

Mike Hogan

Mike Hogan, and his wife Liz – along with their two sons and two daughters – were evacuated from their home on a boat on Wednesday by the Clare Civil Defence.

Their home in Springfield in southeast Clare, which has been one of the worst of the flooded areas, is surrounded by several feet of water that spans out across hundreds of acres of farm land.

“We can’t walk through it. If we had to carry the girls it would be too dangerous,” said Mr Hogan.

“It’s pushing waist-high. I suppose it’s [over] three feet. My wife isn’t doing too well. None of us are getting any sleep.”

The Clare musician said coping with the stress of the situation was as bad as seeing the floodwaters pouring across the fields that surround his home.

When freak rainfall occurs, the ESB – which operate the nearby Parteen Weir dam – says it has little option but to release any increased water levels, which in turn floods Clonlara downstream.

“We’ve seen this a couple of times. The worst time was in 2009. We had to move out for almost a month. It ruined a lot of the land.

“The house got wrecked that time, and we didn’t get back until near Christmas.

“I got blood poisoning the last time from all the stuff that came off the farmland. It has been happening for 15 years. You’d think we’d be used to it.”

Paudie Ryan

Dairy farmer Paudie Ryan said he would suffer “huge financial loss” after the floodwaters swamped his lands around his home.

On Wednesday he relied on neighbours and friends to transport his cattle to higher ground.

Mr Ryan, a victim of seven major floods, blamed the ESB for releasing too much water, which in turn flooded his lands.

“How far do you want to go back? This started in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2015.

“My experience at the moment is total frustration with the so-called ‘bodies’ involved in the river Shannon.

“ There’s four bodies involved in the Shannon, and none of them will take responsibility for it.”

Mr Ryan, like many others living in Clonlara, said that the river Shannon and the Mulchair river which flows into it needed to be dredged to help protect the integrity of its banks.

“I propose one body be put in charge of the river. They need to start at the mouth of it, like you would at any stream, and start cleaning, dredging it,” he said.

“That, in co-ordination with the ESB, will solve an awful lot of problems.

“I believe there is room for improvement with the way [the ESB] are managing the water. That’s my own personal belief.

“We are currently at 375 cubic metres [of water per second], and it’s now people are getting in trouble.

“That’s a huge volume of water. If that was spilled on time, or in a different manner, it may do something to help,” he said.