STORM Ashley battered Galway and the West of Ireland on Sunday, leaving thousands of households without power as well as roads strewn with branches and leaves.

The highest wind speed in the country was recorded on Sunday at the Met Éireann Mace Head weather station near Rosmuc in South West Connemara where a gust of 137km/h [over 85mph] was measured around 2pm.

However, despite the buffeting of wind and rain which the first named storm of the 2024/2025 season brought to the region, there were no reports of personal injuries or structural damage.

By Sunday evening last, Storm Ashley – which carried a Status Orange warning from Met Éireann – had left 53,000 homes across the country without power with Mayo, Galway and Clare particularly badly hit.

ESB crews began repair works on Sunday evening with nearly all areas having power restored through the course of Monday – in some areas, fallen trees had brought down power lines.

The ESB confirmed that by lunchtime on Monday, there were still about 1,200 customers without power in different parts of Galway.

“The main areas in the county impacted by the storm were parts of Athenry, Clifden, Claregalway, Headford, and Tuam.

“As Storm Ashley predominantly caused damage in areas along the Western Seaboard, more pockets of customers across counties Galway and Mayo were affected.

“We apologise for the disruption to family and commercial life this causes and thank customers – especially those who were without power on Sunday night – for their patience as our crews worked to safely restore power,” an ESB spokesperson told the Galway City Tribune.

Galway City Council and Galway County Council crews were also called out later on Sunday evening once the winds began to abate, mostly involved in the clearing of debris on roads including trees, branches and leaf accumulations.

Pictured: The flooded car park beside the Salthill Promenade during Storm Ashley last Sunday. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.