THOUSANDS OF homes and businesses were without power in the northwest yesterday after strong overnight winds.
More than 12,000 ESB customers in counties Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal were cut off. But none of the ESB's major power centres were affected.
Repair crews were working on line repairs from overnight on Tuesday. About 2,000 customers were left without power yesterday evening.
The ESB was confident that all lines would be restored by midnight. Many local lines were cut and some poles broken which would take some time to repair, said an ESB spokesperson.
About 1,000 customers in counties Antrim, Fermanagh and Tyrone were also without electricity yesterday morning. However, Northern Ireland Electricity restored all power by 11am.
Julie Carson from Northern Ireland Electricity said the weather conditions were not as severe as had been expected.
"The network held up very well. It is very robust and again these are very exposed rural and coastal locations," she said.
A number of ferry services were also cancelled yesterday and fallen trees made driving hazardous in some areas of the North.
Strong westerly winds all over Ireland on Tuesday night brought a stormy blustery start to yesterday morning.
The winds were particularly strong in Ulster, north Connacht and north Leinster. The highest gusts were in Connacht where a gust of 73 knots or 135km/h was recorded in Belmullet, Co Mayo.
As a result of the overnight storms, fallen trees and debris obstructed some local and rural roads mainly in Leinster, according to AA Roadwatch.
Gardaí warned drivers and cyclists to drive more carefully yesterday, particularly on rural roads.
Road blockages on the Ferndale Road, Bray, Co Wicklow, near Tang in Co Westmeath and on Maple Avenue, Carpenterstown,Dublin, were reported by AA Roadwatch.
However no major routes were blocked by trees.
Pearse Street Dart station in Dublin was closed yesterday afternoon when panels came loose on its roof.
All trains ran as normal through the station but were not stopping there because of fears for passenger safety on the platform.
Ferry passengers were also severely disrupted by the weather as strong westerly gales reached storm force on the Irish Sea yesterday.
All of the Irish Ferries Swift sailings between Dublin and Holyhead were cancelled. Yesterday morning's Stenaline Ferries sailing from Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead was also cancelled.