A MUM-OF-THREE who had no power or water for ten days after Storm Eowyn said she “felt depressed” on day five but admitted that “by day seven I was apoplectic”.
Maggie Lyng and her family feel let down by the local and national authorities in their failed reaction to families like hers who were left to fend for themselves through bitter cold temperatures.
The artist and healthcare assistant lives with her husband and three daughters in a rural location in Boardsmill, near Trim, Co Meath and her home, along with five other houses, only had power restored on Sunday morning.
She said: “I’ve only three spots of internet in the house and I was leaning backwards on the couch with the phone a certain way to the window to get a signal and when I looked back, the lights were on at 11.50am.
“The power often goes here for some reason. We could be out five times in a year but only up to maybe two days at most.
“We have a gas stove and hob so at least we had some way to heat the house and cook something.
“Day five I was really down but day seven, I lost it. I was apoplectic with everyone. I said every politician was as full of s*** as my toilets were and if anyone mentioned a community hub, I was ready to take the heads clean off them.
“I went out to the garden and screamed, threw a few things around and kicked another few things. The dog was even depressed.”
She said she felt badly let down by the government, who she believes owe the people an apology in the response to a national emergency.
The mum blasted: “Community hubs? A shop offering to charge phones. That’s no refuge for people in dire straits who need somewhere warm to sit, somewhere to shower and somewhere they can gather to share a cup of tea in company.
“These hubs didn’t have clothes washing facilities and you can’t take a shower by the lotto machine in the local shop.
“All help, no matter what, was so appreciated but what they could offer was limited especially as people’s needs became greater with each passing day.
“One place I went to didn’t even know they were listed as a hub.
“There was a failure by the state in their duty of care to us. Our welfare was vacated. We were totally abandoned by local, regional and national government.”
ESB Networks said approximately 25,000 homes, farms, schools and businesses remain without power today – 11 days on from Storm Eowyn.
Restoration works are continuing with the help of crews from Austria, Finland, France, the UK, Germany, Netherlands and Norway, who are on the ground in the worst impacted areas.
Maggie said they rented a hotel room in Trim for their daughters one night but she and her husband went home to maintain the fire – the only bit of heat in their home.
FULL LIST OF STORM NAMES 2024/25
THE Irish meteorological service, along with the national weather services of the UK and the Netherlands, each contributed seven names to list of storm names for this season.
The new storms list runs from early September until late August the following year, coinciding with the beginning of autumn.
The system of naming storms was first launched in 2015 so that the communication of severe weather is easier.
And Met Eireann’s contributions were taken from a list of more than 500 suggestions by primary school children participating in ESB Science Blast last February.
Ireland contributed the names Conall, Darragh, Hugo, Izzy, Naoise, Poppy and Vivienne.
Letters Q, U, X, Y, Z are not included, which is in line with the US National Hurricane Centre naming convention.
The full list for 2024/25 is:
- Ashley
- Bert
- Conall
- Darragh
- Eowyn
- Floris
- Gerben
- Hugo
- Izzy
- James
- Kayleigh
- Lewis
- Mavis
- Naoise
- Otje
- Poppy
- Rafi
- Sayuri
- Tilly
- Vivienne
- Wren
In addition, costs such as food waste, water, candles, takeaways and deli food have all added to an already cost pressing January.
She said: “By day nine, we nearly had to sit on top of the fire wearing jackets and coats to get any heat, the house had grown so cold.
“I didn’t hear a thing from any politicians. At a time when people had no power and no internet, there should have been cars driving around with loudspeakers telling people where they could go and what they could do.
“It has been an absolute eye-opening experience.
“Every village may not have a shop or a church but most have a school and they should be given generators to open a classroom to locals in times like this where they can charge phones, get a bit of heat into them and talk to other people.
“I’ve heard so many stories of people on their own who have been so lonely and so cold for too long.
“I really feel that the government needs to give us an apology.”
