President visit lifts flood gloom
Help is at hand, says Mrs McAleese on tour of worst-hit areas
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Wednesday December 23 2009
THE flooding gloom which left many families in the west and midlands dreading Christmas lifted somewhat yesterday as President Mary McAleese saluted them for heroically fighting back against the odds.
Mrs McAleese and her husband, Martin, travelled to the worst-hit areas of Co Galway, Ennis and Athlone to express their solidarity and to commend victims' community spirit.
Flood-hit families gathered in community centres and civic offices to hear President McAleese thank the emergency services and voluntary agencies for their efforts throughout the November deluge.
She reserved particular gratitude to the volunteers, neighbours and friends who had shown exceptional community spirit to help individuals and families survive the crisis.
Speaking in Gort, which was hit harder than anywhere else throughout the three weeks of incessant rain and flooding, Mrs McAleese said: "Nature overwhelmed this place with more water than anyone had seen in living memory. It was a moment of utter crisis and fear.
"But human nature had fought back and people did what had to be done ... and then some more. All sorts of remarkable things happened here."
Destroyed
The President said everyone had been touched by the images of homes destroyed, and even travelling through Co Galway, the effects of the flooding could still to be seen in the fields.
Expressing her thanks to all who were part of "that extraordinary meitheal", President McAleese lauded those who were leading the fightback. "Gort is back in business -- these are tough people," she said.
The attendance at Gort Community Centre gave her a standing ovation and Mrs McAleese spent some time with the affected families, speaking to them about their experiences.
Galway county manager Martina Maloney said more than 1,300 square miles across the region had been severely affected by the unprecedented flooding. But nowhere had the impact been felt more acutely than in south Galway.
Addressing families in Ennis later, President McAleese reminded them that psychological, emotional and financial help was available.
However, she acknowledged that while the acute phase of the crisis was over, much work remained to be done in terms of recovery and rebuilding lives.
One of the great things which could be said when people looked back at "the devastating time" was that not a hair on anyone's head had been hurt, she said.
- BRIAN McDONALD and GORDON DEEGAN
Irish Independent
