“We didn’t think the water would come this high when it first started to rise”

“We didn’t think the water would come this high when it first started to rise”


Anton McNulty

“The water just stopped at the door [of the shop] and if it had rose an inch more we would have lost a lot more stock. We would be out of business completely and bankrupt,” explained Martin Corcoran as he waded through the water which rushed through his home and business the day before.
Martin who owes and runs Corcoran’s Drapery Shop on George Street in Newport is no stranger to floods but he told The Mayo News that last Thursday’s flooding was one of the worst he has seen.
Thousands of euro worth of stock was damaged in the flood which was half a foot deep in parts of his home the day after the flooding. The flat in the back of his premises was completely flooded with washing machines and other electrical appliances destroyed.
“This is not the first time I have been flooded but this was the worst I have seen it. There are rooms flooded that were never flooded before. I’d have lost about €10,000 in stock and it happened at the worst time running up to Christmas.
“The flat at the back of my house is totally destroyed. There were new carpets and floors put down and luckily there was no tenant there at the time but one was due to come.
“The water started to rise at about nine o’clock on Thursday morning and I called the emergency services and they were there all day until 11pm. It was rising all the time and they were just keeping it at bay.
“We didn’t think the water would come this high when it first started to rise. We thought it would go through the drain but we did not realise at the time it was blocked. When it was getting near the shop that was when started to get worried. Fair play to the fire brigade they did their best but the pump wasn’t taking the water fast enough.”
Maureen Sweeney who lives alone across the road from Corcoran’s said it was a nightmare living with the threat of flooding every time there is heavy rain. She was at work when the flooding got to her back door and only for the quick thinking of her neighbours her house which she is currently decorating would be worse off.
“It is a nightmare ... you can’t relax when there is heavy rain with the threat of flooding. The water came in my kitchen and if the fire brigade had not arrived it would be worse. This is no way to be living,” she said.