Flood fears continue in The Neale and Cong

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE This drone picture shows the extent of the flooding around the crossroads in The Neale. Taken from the Ballinrobe side of the village, the main road to Galway remains completely impassible. Pic: Darren Moran/Firefly Aerial Photography

The Neale
Ciara Galvin

THIS evening (Thursday) Mayo County Council have began raising the road at Castletown, The Neale to provide access in and out of the flooded area.
The villages of Castletown and Ballyrourke have been described as 'completely isolated and cut off'. The raising of the road will allow access into the various townlands which have been cut off following the severe flooding.
Homeowners and communities in the worst affected parts of The Neale and Cong were still bracing themselves today as water levels continued to rise.
Water levels in parts of the Neale and Cong have risen significantly despite the drop in rainfall in the past 24 hours. The main N84 Ballinrobe to Galway road at The Neale is still closed today as flood waters continue to rise, with many homeowners in the area still cut off.
The worst affected homes are continuing to rely on local farmers and neighbours to access schools and the village.
"There's three ways in and they're all flooded ... It's much worse than 2006, places that haven't flooded before are flooding," said local postman Mike O'Malley, speaking about the village of Ballyrourke.
Floods on the Lough Mask Road have spread with two trucks becoming stuck in floods on the road yesterday (Wednesday).
Speaking to The Mayo News today principal of The Neale National School Joe Maher said attendance at the 108 pupil school was down 30 percent.
The school, which is located on one of the few roads in the area that is without significant flooding, reopened on Wednesday but many children are still unable to get to school.
"Monday or Tuesday we couldn't open because most of the kids were still stranded themselves in their townlands. There are families either side of the crossroads that are literally stuck in and they physically can't get out. Some families made their own paths through fields and they were driving up via a jeep and bringing children to school that way," explained Mr Maher.
Meanwhile, the village of The Neale itself has become a relative ghost town with publican and shop owner Richard Mellotte explaining that people simply cannot get into the village.
"No one is getting out [of their houses] to get in. You get the odd few in that can make it but otherwise nobody can access us. We've had one or two cancellations in the restaurant on account of people not being able to get in," said Mellotte, adding that one of his own staff has been travelling to work by tractor this week.
In Cong the village is down to a one lane system with the Circular Road closed off to traffic as flood relief efforts continue. Council workers and locals worked through the night to divert the flow of water back into the adjoining river to protect properties from severe flooding.