Storm causes havoc while U2 fans harbour hope for a beautiful day in Croker
EMERGENCY services battled a blaze at a home in Co Galway after the house was struck by lightning as storms hit the country.
Two fire units responded to a domestic fire at a house in Barna at around 1.30am yesterday.
It took more than two hours to bring the fire under control after a lightning bolt struck the building. There were no injuries reported.
Meanwhile, the Electricity Supply Board told the Irish
Independent 500 individual faults in the system were recorded over 24 hours, affecting 98,000 people, as a result of the storm.
“At its peak, there were 12,000 outages,” the spokesperson said. Crews were deployed into the night to restore power to those areas affected.
Parts of Galway were “badly affected”, with 4,000 customers in Athenry and 2,500 customers in Tuam hit by the storms. West Cork and Kerry were also hit by the thunderstorms.
Meanwhile, U2 fans might find what they are looking for on Saturday night, as the rain looks as though it will stay away for their big Croke Park gig.
John Eagleton, forecaster with Met Éireann, said that although heavy showers were predicted initially, “currently, it looks as if it will be dry, with warm temperatures of 15C or 16C”.
Mr Eagleton said it was “a bit hit or miss”, but the outlook for Saturday was for showers in the morning that would clear for the evening, just in time for the event.
Gates open at 5pm for the gig, and no queuing is allowed prior to that.
This morning is set to be dry, with clear, warm spells before the weather changes later tonight and showers will persist across the country.