HOMES were 'minutes' away from disaster during recent floods, which saw one road in West Cork turn into a river.
Properties near Caheragh, between Bantry and Skibbereen, came within feet – and minutes – of being devastated by floods, after a tributary of the River Ilen burst its banks, releasing torrents of water in minutes.
The video above shows the extent of the flooding which took place at Gene O'Driscoll's house last weekend – his quick-thinking neighbours helped minimise damage with the use of a digger to burst the ditch, and sandbags to soak up as much water as possible.
Farmer Helen O'Sullivan's land was also flooded last weekend during severe downpours.
@southernstarirlBantry farmer Helen O'Sullivan's farm was damaged by severe flooding at the weekend.♬ original sound - The Southern Star
Bantry town has been experiencing major flooding events since at least 1898, according to archived copies of The Southern Star.
A trawl through the national newspaper archives this week revealed that while there have been several instances of bad flooding in recent years, people in the town have been reporting issues regarding flooding as far back as the end of the 19th century.
A local meeting in the town in 1898, which was reported in the paper, saw local officials disagreeing over who should pay for work on the town’s sewers, after a ‘recent flood’.
‘Raging torrents swirl through streets of town’ roared a headline in 1937 over a report which said the water was 5ft high in parts of the town.
In December 1945 the town was again affected by heavy rains which also hit Clonakilty and Kinsale – and swept away part of a wall in Crosshaven.
The paper reported, in 1963, that Skibbereen and Bantry were both badly hit in November, just two years after the paper had reported – in October 1961 – that the Bantry area had been hit by some of the worst flooding ‘in the town’s history’.
Pick up a copy of this week's Southern Star for comprehensive reports on last weekend's flooding in Bantry, on page 1, 2 and 13.
