Thousands remain without power as Storm Franklin hits Ireland

Around 20,000 homes and businesses remain without power after Storm Franklin hit the island of Ireland.

It is the third storm to pass over the island in recent days, after Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice wreaked havoc.

This latest storm brought coastal flooding and fallen trees to parts of the island once again, with the north and north-west worst affected.

Met Eireann said gusts of more than 130kph were recorded in Co Galway and Co Donegal.

Status orange wind warnings issued for parts of the north and north-west have now lifted, while a yellow wind warning for the entirety of the Republic of Ireland expired at 9am.

A yellow wind warning for the counties of Wicklow and Wexford, on the east coast of the island, expired earlier.

Storm Franklin, coming in the wake of two other major storms, left homes and businesses across the island without power.

ESB confirmed on Monday afternoon that around 18,000 customers remain without power in the wake of the storm in the Republic, while Northern Ireland Electricity Networks confirmed that just 2,000 customers are still cut off.

ESB said that power had been restored to 11,000 people over the course of the morning, with most of the damage in the north-west.

That damage, a spokesperson said, was largely caused by fallen trees on overhead lines.

They said: “ESB Networks are working towards having power restored to the majority of customers impacted by tonight.

“However, such is the damage to the electricity network following three storms in close succession, it is likely that there will be some customers in Counties Leitrim and Donegal without power overnight.”

Parts of the country were still clearing up after Storm Eunice when the latest storm hit.

Sligo County Council had made the decision in advance to close certain coastal roads, as well as the popular Strandhill promenade, due to fears of flooding at high tide.

Brian Tapley, from ESB, said on Monday that crews had been working since first light and hoped to restore power to all customers by tonight.

“Our technicians have been nearly three or four days at this now. So fatigue is something we have to be mindful of as well,” he told RTE radio.

Deirdre Lowe, from Met Eireann, said that the country had certainly felt the impact of three storms in quick succession.

“It makes the impacts more risky. Structures have been weakened, tree roots have been weakened. There was a lot of fallen trees this morning, particularly in Donegal and Sligo.

“Certainly, one storm coming in after another. It’s due to a very strong jet stream over Ireland, which has persisted in the past week,” she told RTE radio.

She also warned that the country could see snow and sleet in the days to come.