Paddy Towey, a drystock farmer from Banagher, Co Offaly, has been dealing with a flooded farmyard since Monday, 7 December.“The water started to rise and come in around the yard on Sunday night. By Monday morning it had come in to the dwelling house,” said Towey.
Paddy Towey, a drystock farmer from Banagher, Co Offaly, has been dealing with a flooded farmyard since Monday, 7 December.
“The water started to rise and come in around the yard on Sunday night. By Monday morning it had come in to the dwelling house,” said Towey.
“We had expected this to happen because the same thing happened in 2009 but this time it is supposed to get worse.”
Towey is currently living in a caravan on neighbouring land. He moved his stock into a shed on higher ground but it is packed to its limit.
“Having cattle in the yard means that I can’t move too far away,” said Towey. “Fortunately, my neighbour has given me electricity in the caravan. But the fact is, all my land is flooded.
“It will be May next year before I’ll be able to get the cattle out on grass again and I won’t have enough forage to last until May.”
Most of Towey’s yard is under two feet of water so he can still use the tractor to feed his stock. But he is particularly annoyed by the lack of response from local authorities.
“The local Garda Sergeant only visited on Tuesday, 8 December, and he made a few phone calls to close the road,” said Towey. “Traffic driving by was sending waves through the water and my house is ruined now.
“Something needs to be done to prevent this happening in the future. The way I look at it, these people that are in authority live on high ground and have no consideration for others. But the important thing at the moment is to try and keep the bright side out.”
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