“The elderly were completely isolated”

“Only the radio on batteries kept many going for three days,” describes Sandra Murphy (37) from Keenagh on how especially elderly people in the small rural community outside Crossmolina were coping without electricity and water during the recent stormy weather.

“It was a very isolating time, especially for our elderly,” explains Murphy, who is very active in the community.

During those tough few days, a lot of the elderly were unable to contact their relatives living far away as they couldn't call them. They even missed the local Mass service. They couldn't go in person and they couldn't even attend virtually, as the Parish webcams were down due to the power outage.

Keenagh has 150 residents, about one third of them is in their late seventies and older.

Three days and four nights without power was a huge challenge for them, especially because there was water outages as well. The pumps run on electricity and if that's gone, then the water is gone too.

Ms Murphy regularly went to check with residents cut off from society:

“I actually took water containers, and had to go to a spring well in Lahardane, fill the containers and supply the elderly with water. Supplies in the shops were low, because some people were bulk buying due to the high demand.”

Cllr Michael Loftus acknowledges the constant efforts by the people like Sandra Murphy: “The people of Keenagh are very good at looking after each other.”

Additionally, Loftus points out that the biggest issue was trees along the roads. Once they fall in a storm, they damage the powerlines. Many trees have now been removed along the powerlines by the County Council.

According to the ESB, there was a peak of 235,000 households and businesses in Ireland without power after Storm Isha hit the country, and Mayo was one of the areas that was hit hardest. And Storm Jocelyn then only complicated matters for the ESB and hampered some repair work. All resources were still being deployed on Thursday morning, four days after Storm Isha and there were still approximately 520 customers in Castlebar and 470 in Ballina without power.

Electricity outages have been a constant issue but with storms happening more often we might have to get used to more of them. This week was the fourth time this winter alone, that Keenagh had to deal with a power outage. The latest outage was the longest one this winter. So something has to change. Sandra Murphy says the community is thinking about buying emergency equipment: “We are thinking about investing into generators now, especially for households with babies, young children and for charging phones, they are an essential lifeline for people living alone in our community here.” Unfortunately power outages will remain a thing of the future in rural communities across Mayo.