Milk delivered to Limerick shop by tractor amid 14in of snow

Milk was delivered to a Centra shop in west Limerick by a local farmer in his tractor on Monday 6 January amid 14 inches of snow during the current cold snap.

Meaney’s Centra in Dromcolliher, just one kilometre from the border with Cork, had to be innovative in keeping their shelves stocked with fresh produce amid the adverse weather.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal, owner Colm Meaney said that on Sunday the shop was wiped out of many essentials, so they needed to restock on Monday.

“Our bread man could come as far as Charleville, so we had to get a lad in a 4x4 jeep to go and meet him because the van couldn’t get back the road, no way.

“The milk man could come, but he couldn’t get into the backyard where we would normally take deliveries. He wouldn’t have been able to reverse up.

“He parked across the road from the shop, that’s as far as it could come. There wasn’t a hope we could roll the milk across.

“There were tractors all around. This lad would do a small bit of work for us and he had a loader up on the back of the tractor. So we said that was as good a way of getting it across the road as any,” he explained.

Meaney, who praised the community spirit, added that there were several tractors around the shop at the time, because tractors and 4x4 jeeps are the only way many locals can come to get groceries, as the roads in the area are impassable by car.

“Only for local fellas, we had nothing. We would be the main shop in the area. There would be a lot of small villages around us with no shops, so a lot of people would be depending on us to have stuff. You just have to do what you can to make sure everyone has enough,” he said.

Unprecedented

West Limerick and north Cork are among the worst affected areas in the country by the recent weather.

Meaney said the current snowfall is unprecedented in the area and “never seen” before.

“There are a lot of places up high around us, we got 14 inches down here which we’ve never seen. There are helicopters going out checking power lines in neighbouring villages, because ESB trucks can’t go next nor near them. It’s that bad down here.

“The army were coming out to collect nurses to bring them to the hospital last night. It’s unbelievable what’s happening. It was never before seen here. We’d never get any bad weather here normally, storms or anything,” he added.

Many are without power in the area. In nearby Newcastle West, the ESB is being aided by agri contractors to help restore power.

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