This article is from page 15 of the 2014-01-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
EVERY day Tony must park his car in his neighbours drive and jump over the sand bags to enter his own home.
The pensioner, who does not wish for his full name to be used, fears that if he lifts the sand bags his house will once again be invaded by water from the Atlantic.
Like his neighbours the Clancys and the Cusacks, Tony’s home is not on the sea front, but across the road from those homes that look on to the sea.
On June 7, he was not therefore expecting the storm to bring the high waves crashing through his neighbours’ homes, across the street and into his house and garage.
Thousands of euros of damage was done to the home he shares with his wife, as washing machines, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners and other household electrical goods fell victim to the water.
Two foot of seawater surrounded his home on that fateful morning, a sight he had not ever expected to see.
In the chaos that ensued as emergency services and local authority workers tried to assist, it became clear no one had expected the amount of water that invaded the homes.
“I had difficulty getting sand bags. In the end I had to fill my own using the coal bags we had,” he said.