STORMS Isha and Jocelyn battered Galway and the west on Sunday and Tuesday – leaving thousands of homes without power and roads blocked by fallen trees and debris.

The double whammy of storms began on Sunday last when Isha blew in from the Atlantic with a wind gust of 80.5mph [130km/h] recorded at the Mace Head Met Éireann station in south-west Conamara.

Galway County Council crews worked in different areas across the county through Monday to open up roads blocked by fallen trees while ESB teams battled to restore power to over 200,000 customers ‘blacked out’ across the west and north west.

Storm Isha is also thought to have been a contributory factor in a fatal single-vehicle road accident on the N17 at Lisduff near Claremorris on Sunday evening last which claimed the life of Longford native and Tuam resident Jimmy Rowe.

The air dome at Galway Lawn Tennis Club in Salthill was blown down and completely destroyed by Isha while a clock tower on the 13 On the Green pub (formerly Garveys) in Eyre Square fell onto the path also on Sunday evening. No one was injured in either incident.

The two car-parks in Salthill were also closed off to motorists on Sunday – and also on Tuesday last for Storm Jocelyn – as was the roadway at Rockbarton Road between Pearse Stadium and Leisureland.

Storm Isha on Sunday evening had been flagged with a status red weather warning by Met Éireann while Jocelyn on Tuesday evening had an orange warning in place.

Caption: A damaged street light on the footpath at the Salmon Weir Bridge during Storm Isha on Sunday evening.  Photos: Joe O’Shaughnessy.

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