A MANAGER at a popular Cork bar has been left gutted after “14 inches” of snow caused €100,000 worth of damage.
Tonnes of the white stuff fell on top of the outdoor area of the pub, causing the entire roof to collapse.
Geary’s Bar, a family owned pub on Main Street in Charleville, Co Cork had created an outdoor area complete with heating and televisions which accommodated up to 500 people.
Met Eireann has issued a fresh nationwide snow warning as An Post delays services, schools shut down in six counties and 40,000 are left without power.
Wintry showers are expected to bring further snow to already hard hit areas.
The latest warning is bringing hazardous travel conditions, poor visibility and travel disruption.
‘THE WHOLE THING COLLAPSED’
Corina Gough, the bar’s General Manager of Geary’s Bar said the outdoor facility “would be about 75 per cent of our business this time of year.”
She said: “It is fully heated with televisions and things like that. When the electricity went we were unable to close it in and it collapsed yesterday.
“It is a retractable roof. It is a fantastic machine but it buckled. We measured up to 14 inches of snow. In severe weather warnings you open it in so that it folds up like an accordion.
“But if your electricity goes you are stuck. With no electricity yesterday the whole thing collapsed.”
Corina told Cork’s 96FM Opinion Line with PJ Coogan a “serious” amount of damage has been done to the pub.
She said: “It is even impacting on another roof out there so we can’t even get in underneath it. We can’t get up to the sheds. The steel girders around the side all buckled. They are in half.
“It is only going to get worse because it is weighing down.We have televisions and speakers, furniture all ruined. Even the metal bar in the stage area has crumpled with the weight of everything.”
SERIOUS INCIDENT
Corina admitted they were caught by surprise by the seriousness of the situation which happened in such a short period of time.
She said: “We closed up. Brought in all our furniture, those sorts of things but by the time we were doing that the electricity was gone.
“Even round town on the Main Street there are gutters hanging. I know of a farm shed out the road that just caved in. I have never seen snow like it.
“Even outside they’re measuring 14 inches of snow on top of a telephone box. 13 inches just on top of the beer kegs. It is just sitting there now and it is turning into blocks of ice.
“We will be closed here for a few days to get ourselves sorted. You have no idea the amount we have put into that beer garden over the years. It is devastating today as it is 75 of our business this time of year. Even though it is an outdoor area it is heated and there is live music out there.
“We have a lot of events booked in for January which we have had to cancel.”
KERRY’S MISHAP
Similarly in Kerry, emergency services were called to the Tralee Sports Complex – a regional sports and swimming facility – at approximately 7am this morning after the alarm was raised over the damage.
There were no injuries reported and the building and grounds will remain closed to the public following the shock incident.
The facility, which has almost 1,500 members, attracts over 300,000 visits each year.
Just days earlier a basketball game with hundreds in attendance took place in the hall.
Chair of the complex, Jim Finucane, said the main roof collapsed into the hall, which has suffered substantial damage as a result. However, he said the pools appear not to be affected.
He added that work will be undertaken to get the complex back open to the public as quickly as possible.
