Local authorities played a vital role in the Government’s response to Storm Éowyn earlier this year, which left chaos in its wake with thousands left stranded without power many weeks later. In the aftermath of the worst storm to hit these shores in recent decades, questions were raised about our future preparedness for extreme weather events.
On 24 January 2025, Ireland was hit with one of the harshest storms in 80 years. Storm Éowyn, with record breaking gusts of up to 184kph, caused an estimated €200m in damage, and with red weather warnings issued for 32 counties, the powerful and record-breaking extratropical cyclone wreaked havoc across the country.
Storm Éowyn forced the closure of schools, preschools, universities and many businesses across the country, disrupting transport and causing widespread power outages, which left over one million without electricity across the island and over 200,000 without water. It also claimed the lives of two people in Ireland; a man tragically lost his life in Donegal, when a tree fell on his car, while another died when his medical devices failed.
In the aftermath of the storm, the Government’s response faced severe criticism, particularly regarding the length of time it took for the likes of the ESB and Uisce Eireann to restore power and water, particularly in certain parts of the country.
Around 39,000 people were still without electricity 10 days after the storm, while others were left waiting three weeks or more for ESB crews to fix the issue. Roscommon, Mayo, North Galway and South Leitrim were the areas that suffered the longest power outages, while Galway was worst hit by a lack of water supplies.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead government department for storms and severe weather. Its crisis management cell, the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management (NDFEM), chaired the National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) for Storm Éowyn.
The National Emergency Co-ordination Group (NECG) was tasked with co-ordinating and concentrating all efforts to restore power, water, telecommunications and other services to homes, farms and businesses in the wake of Storm Éowyn.
“This was done in a virtual capacity, which allowed all departments and agencies plus the local authorities to share crisis information,” Kealan McMoreland, Head of the Office of Emergency Planning (OEP), told ‘Council Review’.
Keelan McMoreland, Head of the Office of Emergency Planning, addresses the technical briefing on emergency planning at the National Emergency Co-ordination Centre on 8 April.
The NECG met two days before the storm made landfall and was briefed by Met Eireann on its severity and the hydro-meteorological situation, which included looking at river, fluvial, surface water and coastal flooding.
“Local authorities activated severe weather assessment teams in advance of Storm Éowyn,” Keith Leonard, National Director of the NDFEM, told ‘Council Review’. “They then mobilised outdoor crews to undertake clearing up operations, and co-ordinated assistance from the Defence Forces, Coillte, Civil Defence, National Parks & Wildlife to assist ESB Networks with power restoration efforts.”
The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) provided two points of contact to the national structure – Meath County Council’s Chief Executive Kieran Keohe for emergency management, and Carlow County Council’s Chief Executive Coilin O’Reilly for the humanitarian side.
Their co-ordination of resources was “phenomenal,” according to McMoreland, “particularly with the establishment of the humanitarian support hubs at local government level. Local clubs and groups put their shoulders to the wheel in communities that were massively affected by power outages to establish community hubs off their own bat, which eventually government and the local authorities could come in and support”.
