It was a small inconvenience compared to what was going on at home in Clonakilty that night. Below is a piece I've written for this week's Clonakilty page of "The Southern Star". It demonstrates how people in Clon come together in times of adversity. They all deserve our applause for what they did on the last night of 2009.
HEROISM PREVENTS ANOTHER FLOODING DISASTER
Wednesday 30th December saw torrential rain falling for most of the day and night – a change from the bitter cold and frosts that dominated the weather for the previous week and since. Many welcomed the relief from icy roads and resultant disruption to travel, but as the night progressed, the cure soon became as bad as the disease. Roads were flooded and in some cases, surfaces washed away, particulary minor roads out the country areas. And with the unrelenting rain continuing into the night, thoughts went back to that awful night of 19th November last. Floods caused havoc in Skibbereen and Bandon again.
But luckily, Clonakilty residents for the most part escaped damage again on this occassion. This was not just a stroke of luck. It was because of the selflessness and heroism of a small band of people – less than a dozen in fact, who worked flat out from around 10.30pm that night to protect vulnerable properties and stop the deluge from turning to disaster. As they monitored the rising water levels in the River Feale around midnight as it flowed through town, and with a high tide forecasted for 4.00am, the group made up of Town Council staff and County Council Emergency staff along with two of the councillors, local business people and residents, decided that defences would have to be put in place. Sandbags which were on standby at the council yard in Kent St. were loaded onto Aidan Holland’s dumper, and the group dispersed them to low-lying doorways and shores to prevent the rising water from entering properties.
The floodwater from the overflowing river at Dunne’s Stores created a new river down Western Road and it entered into Bushmount entrance gate. The volunteers duly created a dam of sandbags at the highest point of the road here. The provisional works done in November at Tom Keating’s farmland helped but the waters overcame this during the night. The Gardaí were out at this stage turning traffic away from affected areas, while the volunteers placed sandbags across the road to prevent the water proceeding down Oliver Plunkett St. and into the town centre. However with the river rising, not everything could be contained. Sandbags were placed at the AIB, and the Post Office looked to be under threat. The entrance gate to Spillers Lane was blocked to prevent a repetition of the November flooding of that area and the Kent St. car park and surrounding areas.
The river wall along Kent St. was under pressure because of the sheer volume of water now in the river, and the crews did their best to keep the water in by blocking off shores and openings in the wall. It didn’t prevent water rising there and on Connolly St. however.
Wolfe Tone St. residents and businesses were also assisted by the arrival of sandbags, and for the most part, escaped damage. Meanwhile up at the Inis Síoda estate at the top of McCurtain Hill, residents there were out preventing water running off the main road into their estate which is lower down. Mother Nature was again angry, and while the men did their best, it was a case of waiting after they had put up the defences until the critical high tide period leading up to and after 4.00am.
Thankfully, the town was spared what could have been a disaster, thanks to all those who took it upon themselves that night to go into the awful weather conditions to try to defend the town. While they built the defences and monitored the situation, most people slept soundly in their beds, oblivious to the potential seriousness of what could transpire, were it not for the actions of these local heroes. Each and every one of them is owed a huge debt of gratitude by the people of the town, especially those living along vulnerable areas. There is no doubt but for these people, residents would have woken up to a disaster on the Thursday morning. It was 6.30am before some of them went home having been out since 10.30pm the previous night.
Among those we heard of who were involved were: Mayor Anthony McDermott (who is also a town council outdoor staff member), Town Clerk Justin England (who came from his home in Bandon at 11.30pm), Town Foreman John O’ Reilly and Town Council worker Séamus Daly, Cllr. Humphrey Deegan – no stranger to flooding, just like former councillor Robert Walsh of Walsh Printers, Kevin O’ Donovan of Scannell’s Bar and customer Mel Long, Matthew deLong of Kent St., Jerome JC O’ Sullivan of Western Road, Pádraig Sheehy of Tom Sheehy and Co. and County Council Emergency crew members Chris Hayes and Paul Tobin. Aidan Holland provided invaluable service transporting the sandbags to various locations in his dumper.
Tom Keating must also be acknowledged again, as he allowed his lands to be flooded during the November floods, thereby saving the town from a much worse fate. Those defences were luckily still in place last Wednesday week, although the water did breach them and headed to town later in the night.
As the correspondent was not involved in this operation (he in fact found himself stranded after a funeral outside of Cork on Wednesday night and was unable to make it home until Thursday noon because of flooding on roads to Bandon), he wishes to state that the list of people mentioned above may not be complete, and apologises if anyone is omitted inadvertently. If it is brought to his attention, he will mention them next week, as it is important to acknowledge everyone’s contribution to saving Clonakilty for the second time in six weeks.
