Storm Boelo leaves 41,000 Irish homes, farms and businesses without power

Storm Boelo left approximately 41,000 homes, farms, and businesses across Ireland without electricity on Sunday morning, with the northwest bearing the brunt of the destructive winds and coastal gales. ESB Networks deployed repair crews at first light to tackle outages stretching from the Atlantic coast across the midlands, while Met Éireann maintained multiple weather warnings as the system swept across the country.

Wind Warnings Expire as Network Failures Hit Northwest

Donegal was under a Met Éireann Status Orange weather warning that expired at 9am and was replaced by a Status Yellow wind warning running until 3pm, as reported by The Irish Times. Similar Orange-level warnings for Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo, and Galway expired earlier in the day. In Northern Ireland, the UK Met Office maintained a Status Yellow warning for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Derry until midday, following the expiration of an earlier Amber Alert for Antrim and Derry.

The vast network failures hit the west and northwest hardest, alongside localized pockets in Bantry, County Cork, and Dingle, County Kerry.

As Met Éireann weather warnings remain in place, there may be further power outages this morning, the utility stated, adding that ESB Networks crews have been deployed since first light in all impacted areas to continue to carry out the necessary restoration work where safe to do so. We expect the vast majority of impacted customers to have their supply restored by this evening.

Across the border, Northern Ireland experienced localized cuts affecting fewer than 10,000 homes. Meanwhile, Limerick faced its own disruptions as up to 200 properties lost power, concentrated largely between Patrickswell and Rathkeale, according to the Limerick Leader and Limerick’s Live 95. Garry Martin, Director of Human Resources, Economic Development and Emergency Services with Donegal County Council, highlighted specific hazards on the ground:

In some instances electricity lines are entangled in trees, Mr. Martin told RTÉ.ie, urging residents to stay back and call the ESB’s emergency number on 1800 372 999.

Transport Disruption and Infrastructure Damage

Fallen trees and debris forced road closures and reduced lanes across multiple counties. The Police Service of Northern Ireland confirmed that while several routes were cleared, the Springwell Road in Groomsport stayed closed and Cootehall Road in Crawfordsburn dropped to a single lane. Mayo County Council deployed crews to clear the partially blocked R331 between Claremorris and Ballinrobe. In Limerick, the Limerick Leader reported that the L1329 road at Rooskagh East, Newcastle West closed due to a road verge slippage, while council crews tackled fallen trees on the R445 and R515.

Aviation and maritime sectors also absorbed the impact. Dublin Airport reported that 12 inbound and 12 outbound flights faced cancellation due to the high winds, with airline schedules constrained by weather issues both domestically and abroad. Ferry crossings between Dublin and Holyhead were similarly canceled on Saturday. Head of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management Keith Leonard pointed to wider environmental risks, telling Limerick’s Live 95:

Surface water is definitely a hazard right across the country, but particularly again in those Atlantic coastal areas, really right up from Kerry up to Donegal. And river levels are starting to come up to full bank and even out of bank in a few places. Emergency Management Keith Leonard

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Met Éireann issued an incoming rain warning for Kerry and Cork, set to run from 1am to 9am on Monday, as emergency services monitor rising water levels and potential river flooding heading into the new week.

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