Clare County Council has begun to clear some of the main routes in the county, after the county was hit with one of the biggest snowfalls in living memory.
The local authority says up to eight inches of snow have fallen in parts last night and this morning.
The county’s five snow ploughs, and gritting fleet have been out in an effort to clear roads but many remain impassable.
People are still urged to stay indoors, and a Status Red weather alert remains in place here.
Clare FM’s Fiona Mc Garry reports:
The Head of the Clare Garda Division is urging people not to head out on county roads this morning following heavy snowfall overnight.
Several inches of snow have fallen in most areas, and snow drifts mean the height of the snow is up to 3 feet in places.
Driving conditions are difficult, and are likely to remain that way in the coming days.
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has echoed that sentiment, saying there’s no guarantee that the M18 motorway will be safe to drive on even tomorrow.
TII Spokesperson Sean O’Neill says that because of the conditions, the situation will have to be monitored constantly
Clare County Council is advising people to stay off roads today.
It has already begun efforts to clear snow from the roads this morning, by sending out the county’s ploughs and gritting fleet.
The local authority says it has treated 720 kilometres of roads, but problems still remain, including at Corkscrew Hill in Ballyvaughan where the N67 remains closed.
Senior Engineer Tom Tiernan has outlined their strategy for the hours and days ahead.
Public Transport has ground to a halt also with no busses or trains running.
Irish Rail services are due to resume from 9 a.m. tomorrow, but with alterations, while staff at Shannon Airport have working around the clock to ensure it can re-open at 5 o’clock tomorrow morning as planned.
The airport shut down at 6 o’clock last evening due to safety concerns for staff, as well as flight operators grounding their fleet.
Director of Operations Niall Maloney is advising people who are due to travel tomorrow to check with their airline before going to the airport.
Over 230 homes in Clare meanwhile, are without power this afternoon.
They’re among 26 thousand nationwide customers nationwide who have been affected by the adverse weather.
Crews are working to restore supply to the 165 in the Cratloe area by 3o’clock and a further 169 in the Tulla area by 4.
Derek Hynes from the ESB explains how the outages occurred.
Back home and Clare FM’s Ben Sweenmey has been out on the streets of Ennis where he met these people out braving the conditions:
Ben Sweeney there speaking with people enjoying the snow in Ennis.
Elsewhere, people in many parts of the county are enjoying their snow days.
Clare FM’s James Mulhall reports:
