IES play key-role in Ireland’s repair after Storm Éowyn

“A Manchester-based utilities and infrastructure service provider with strong ties to counties Mayo and Sligo recently had teams on the ground in the west of Ireland assisting the ESB with its response to Storm Éowyn.

IES Utilities Group was called upon to provide a rapid and skilled response to the destruction caused by Storm Darragh before Christmas and then Storm Éowyn in January. On the day after the storm on January 24, more than 750,000 homes and businesses were without power across the country.

In the aftermath of Éowyn, IES Utilities has had over 160 overhead linesmen and women deployed across north Wales, Scotland and England restoring electricity networks after critical infrastructure suffered from extensive damage. The company was eager to send teams to help the ESB in Ireland after seeing first-hand the challenges and destruction caused by the storm.

The firm has strong ties to the west of Ireland. Managing director Ged Shannon’s family is from Belmullet and group finance manager Mary McDonagh hails from Attymass. They were exceptionally proud to be helping the community in their native county.

CEO Brendan Flynn’s family is from Sligo and he said that he was proud of the work IES carried out in the West of Ireland over the past few weeks.

“When the call came we were more than happy to send our teams to provide help and given that we were helping in the west of Ireland, it was an added bonus,” he said.

Many members of the team were taken by the friendly welcome they received in local communities. One group took the time to assist the local community in Castlebar to clear debris caused by Storm Éowyn.

At another location in Mayo, a team met a 90-year-old man who was keeping himself warm in his car. When the team heard of this, upon reconnecting the area to the main supply, they returned to this customer’s property to ensure that his sockets and heating were powered as well.

“I am proud that the team has stepped up and were able to not only repair the power lines but also found the time to help the local communities they visited,” said Mr Flynn.

Originally, the company’s teams were deployed in Donegal and restored over 9,000 customers in the first days of their deployment. They then worked in Silgo, and finally in Mayo, where they restored over 20,000 customers.

Team leader Mark Barton said there was a vast amount of seemingly irreparable damage.

“There were electricity poles snapped in half, hanging off powerlines, poles in rivers, and large trees that blocked busy roads,” he said.

“We utilised tracked machinery and access equipment and were able to clear the dangerous defects and rebuild the powerlines.”

On February 12, after 14 days of providing support since the initial call to action, the crews from IES Utilities were officially stood down and sent back to England. IES Utilities were commended on their effort and hard work in supporting the wider restoration works for ESB Networks.”

Special thanks to Paul O’Malley for this story.