*A fallen tree in Shannon. Photograph: Donna McGettigan
GUSTS OF 106 km/h have been recorded in Co Clare since the arrival of Storm Ashley along with power outages and road blockages.
Sustained winds of 70 to 80km/h have been recorded in West and North Clare where there have been gusts of 120 to 130km/h. Shannon Airport has experienced winds of 106km/h.
Over 1000 homes and businesses across the county are without power as a result of Storm Ashley.
Impacted areas include Ballyvaughan, Drumquin, Ennis, Ennistymon, Lisdoonvarna and Tulla. Drumquin (956 customers) and Lisdoonvarna (862 have recorded the biggest outage with Ballyvaughan (568), Whitegate (361), Tulla (179), Corofin (195), Ennistymon (72), Kilnamona (39) and Quin (15) also awaiting power to be restored.
A fallen tree between Broadford and O’Callaghans Mills has delayed the 318 TFI Local Link service in East Clare. Between Connolly and Kilmaley, a section of the R474 is blocked with a fallen tree causing delays on the R458 between Dromoland Castle and Newmarket-on-Fergus, close by in Latoon a fallen tree has blocked the road leading to Ballyhannon and Quin.
Fallen trees have also been reported in Cluain Airne, Tradaree and Cluain Alainn in Shannon.
Clare County Council staff have been working since the early hours of Sunday morning to clear debris and trees from the county’s road network.
Co Clare is one of seven counties under a Status Orange wind warning issued by Met Éireann along with Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo until 8pm on Sunday evening.
A separate Status Yellow wind warning is in effect for most of Ireland until midnight. Met Éireann has warned of difficult travelling conditions and urged the public to take responsibility for their own safety.
