Freeze leaves pensioner housebound over Christmas

“I have a heart problem and if I needed an ambulance to get up to me it would have been impossible.”


Retired photographer, Tommy Eibrand (70) from Glensaul, Tourmakeady was a victim of the freezing conditions and was trapped inside his home over the Christmas and New Year period because of ice on the road. He tells The Mayo News of his experience in dealing with the situation.

“They said someone in a higher position could only make the decision to grit the roads and that person was on holiday.
“I was not able to get out of my house over the Christmas and the New Year because of the condition of the roads and it was a terrible experience. The roads around where I live were horrendous and my vehicle was not able to go on them at all. I spent Christmas on my own and New Year on my own but luckily I have a neighbour with a 4x4 and he was able to get some stuff for me. I had plenty of food but that was not the problem. I have a heart problem and if I needed an ambulance to get up to me it would have been impossible. I live in a valley which has steep hill and bends and the roads were like ice. Even tractors had difficulty on them.
I asked people what the roads were like and they said it was not safe and not to try it. I never saw anything like it before. The last time I saw it as bad was in the 1990’s when I was blocked in for three days with snow but ice is different. This was exceptional, it might thaw a bit but would freeze over again and it would be worse the next day. There are about five or six other families living around here and nobody around here saw anything like it before.
“I tried to ring the Council’s Emergency number to try and get the roads gritted but the line was either busy or it would ring out. I rang the guards who rang the emergency number and after talking to someone, the garda was told that the person in the Council couldn’t make the decision to get the road gritted. They said someone in a higher position could only make the decision to grit the roads and that person was on holiday. I think it was criminal that a higher placed person was not there to make the decision or a deputy not put in place. This could have been a matter of life or death because if an ambulance was not able to get up to me they could find me dead. It was very worrying to know that anything can happen and there would be no help.
“Luckily in the last few days it has been possible to get out but it is not safe and you are taking your life in your hands. Some parts of the road are not cleared up and you have to hope for the best going down hills. I think the whole thing was badly managed. In Wales where there are difficult spots in the hills, they have salt put in a box and people help themselves if they are in trouble. If that existed here, people could help themselves and not be left in the situation we were. The Council were no help at all and there should have been a better response out there. There are plenty local contractors who could help and why weren’t the army called out to help instead of sitting in their barracks eating turkey and mince pies.”