Storm Amy damage forces rural Leitrim road closure

A local road in north Leitrim has been closed to traffic following extensive damage caused by Storm Amy earlier on Oct 3, 2025. Leitrim County Council has shut the L-42751-0, a rural route off the R289 at Cloonbannive, Dromahair, citing public safety concerns. "The road will remain closed until repair works can be carried out."

The storm wreaked havoc across the county, blocking roads with debris and leaving homes and businesses in darkness. On Sunday, October 5, 400 premises in the south Leitrim region were still without electricity, according to Sligo/Leitrim TD Frank Feighan, who raised the issue during a recent Dáil debate.

“Power was restored more quickly this time, but only because other regions were less affected, allowing manpower to be redirected here,” Deputy Feighan said, adding that “the people of south Leitrim want more” in terms of long-term solutions.

He questioned whether the Commission for Regulation of Utilities has a role to play in tackling the recurring failures in electricity and communications infrastructure. “People in this area, with its considerable proliferation of forestry through which electricity lines run, know this is the root of the problem,” he said.

Four days after Storm Amy hit, many homes and farms remained without electricity — prompting Cllr Paddy O’Rourke to warn that “we’ve learned nothing since Storm Eówyn.”

“There are still many families vulnerable to these collapses of trees, and very little has been done to sort it,” he said. “For all the promises that Minister Healy made — that he would speed up this system — nothing has really changed.”

O’Rourke expressed particular concern about hardwood trees left exposed on the edges of forestry sites after clear-felling. “When you remove the shelter and support behind them, those isolated hardwoods are exposed. For the ten or twelve years before the forest regrows, they’re extremely vulnerable — and they’ll come down one at a time,” he explained.

He also criticised absentee forestry owners in the worst-affected areas — including Mohill, Ballinamore, Aughavas and Carrigallen — for failing to act. “Many of these forests are owned by absentee landlords, and they’re not taking responsibility. People are out of power and phone service again — it’s not good enough,” he said.

While some repair work was carried out by ESB Networks over the summer, O’Rourke said the focus must now shift to prevention. “Infrastructure that was repaired after the January disaster has now been damaged again. It’s the same areas every time,” he said.

With storm season underway, councillors plan to raise the issue again at the next Ballinamore Municipal District meeting on October 21, calling for a review of forestry licensing policy and stronger storm preparedness across rural Leitrim.

“We’re back in storm season again,” O’Rourke said. “Who knows what’s coming next — but clearly, we’ve learned nothing since Storm Eówyn.”

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