Council rang gardai on civilian team rescuing people from Storm Chandra floods
A Council rang gardai to complain about a civilian team that was rescuing people from flood devastated town at the height of Storm Chandra, its leader says.Shane O'Connor, Chairman of a group that rescued more than a dozen families from the floodwaters in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford when the floods hit on Tuesday, says the local Council complained to gardai about its activities – because it felt the organisation should not be there. "They just didn't feel that we should be doing it, that if the families have a problem that they should be contacting the Council," Mr O'Connor said.And when contacted, Wexford County Council did confirm it asked for gardai to help prevent civilians entering the flooded area – although it did not specifically name Mr O'Connor's organisation, Slaney Search and Rescue. Slaney Search and Rescue played a crucial role in evacuating people from the town – after the Slaney river burst its banks at the height of the storm in the early hours of Tuesday morning.We obtained dramatic images of his group using dinghies to evacuate people from the flooded Quay area of the town – including a three-week-old boy, his parents and grandmother. The brave volunteers won plaudits for managing to evacuate little Ollie Micheal Kirwan, his parents Kasey Grant and Stephen Kirwan as well as his grandmother Elayne Grant at around 9am on Tuesday.The team sprang into action after local Independent Councillor Jackser Owens contacted Mr O'Connor asking for help for the terrified family – after the waters threatened to reach the electricity box of their first floor apartment in a complex in the town. The ground floor of the complex was fully submerged by the floodwaters and the family was desperate for rescue – and Mr O'Connor's group saved the day,Ms Grant later told us she was grateful to the group, which has been active in the area for almost 30 years. She said: "We would like to thank Slaney Search and Rescue for the work they put in for us even though they got reported to the guards for doing it! I would also like to thank Councillor Jackser Owens who went above and beyond for our family and for the phone calls after wards checking in on us!"Also want to thank my partner and mother for being so supportive of myself and the baby during this traumatic experience." Mr O'Connor said his group, which is made up of volunteers who search for people missing in Co Wexford's waters and carry out rescue missions like they did on Saturday – got no financial support from the Council.He told us: "We get absolutely zero funding off the Council. The Council at one stage this morning rang the local gardai and put in a complaint that Slaney Search and Rescue are down rescuing people out of their houses and they did not think we should be doing that."That is a fact. They just didn't feel that we should be doing it, that if the families have a problem that they should be contacting the Council."Sure the Council don't have boats. We're a voluntary organisation, we're established in the town, we're 30 years operating last year. This is what we do."Every time there is a flood, this is what we do, we just slot into gear. And this is what happens." A spokeswoman for Wexford County Council confirmed that it did contact gardai about civilians in Enniscorthy during the floods.A spokeswoman told us: "Wexford County Council requested assistance from An Garda Síochána on Tuesday morning to assist in preventing members of the public from entering flooded areas where there were rapidly moving flood waters. The Council's primary mission in this instance was the preservation of life."Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content.We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
