North-west Connemara’s main road was cut by floodwater last weekend as Storm Boelo swept in from the Atlantic, two days after Storm Austen had already soaked the ground.
Galway Bay FM reported on Saturday 24 October that the N59 at Kylemore and the road through the Inagh Valley were both flooded and impassable until further notice, with several other roads around the county also under water. The N59 is the main route linking Clifden and Letterfrack with Leenane and Westport, so the closure cut a key link for north Connemara’s villages.
Orange alerts, power cuts and a red marine warning
Galway was one of the worst-placed counties. It was under a Status Orange rain warning, shared only with Kerry, until 2pm on Saturday. That was followed by a Status Orange wind warning for Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal from 2pm on Saturday to 9am on Sunday. A wider yellow rain warning was in place across nine western and southern counties.
In Connemara, power cuts hit Recess, and there were also outages in Kilcolgan in south Galway, affecting more than 200 customers. Nationally, RTÉ reported that about 41,000 premises were without power at 7.45am on Sunday, most of them in the north-west. By late afternoon that had fallen to about 5,000. Donegal was worst hit, with up to 25,000 customers off at the peak.
Met Éireann also issued a red marine warning for the north-west coast, warning of westerly winds that could reach violent storm force 11 at times. The Irish Times reported that Storm Austen had left soils saturated and rivers high, so Boelo’s rain ran off quickly. Storm surges at high tide also threatened to block river mouths in the west and north-west.
Salthill shut down and woods closed in Galway city
In the city, Galway City Council closed Salthill promenade from the D’Arcy roundabout to Galway Business School from 2pm on Saturday. It also closed Toft car park, Salthill car park, and Silverstrand Road and car park. Ballyloughane Beach Road was restricted to local access, and part of Rosshill Road was closed.
Merlin Woods and Barna Woods were shut, including the allotments and community garden at Merlin, until safety checks could be done after the storm. The council warned that trees still in full leaf were more likely to come down. Galway City Museum closed from 1pm on Saturday. The flood barrier was put up at the Spanish Arch, and sandbags were handed out at locations including Claddagh Hall, the Fire Station on Fr Griffin Road and Salthill Aquarium.
The council told people to avoid unnecessary travel, never to drive through floodwater or past Road Closed signs, and to follow the Irish Coast Guard’s advice: “Stay Back, Stay High, Stay Dry.”
Two storms in a week
Boelo was the season’s second named storm, following Austen, which crossed the country on the Thursday night. The Irish Times noted that two storms this close together are unusual but not exceptional. Across Ireland, Boelo brought fallen trees, spot flooding, road closures and disruption to flights and ferries.
What happens next
Met Éireann said another weather system was due during the week but was not expected to reach named-storm strength. Because the ground is still saturated, rivers in the west and south-west were expected to stay high, which means more surface flooding is likely on low-lying Connemara roads in any further heavy rain. Drivers on the N59 between Clifden, Kylemore and Leenane, and on the R344 through the Inagh Valley, should check Galway County Council and AA Roadwatch updates before setting out. Fallen live wires should be reported to ESB Networks on 1800 372 999.
Sources
- Galway Bay FM: Multiple roads flooded as storm Boelo hits Galway (24 October 2026)
- RTÉ News: Storm Boelo to bring severe winds and rain across Ireland (24 October 2026)
- RTÉ News: Yellow alerts issued for tomorrow as 5,000 without power (25 October 2026)
- The Irish Times: Storm Boelo: Flood warnings issued for nine coastal counties and riverside areas (24 October 2026)
- Galway City Council: Storm Boelo – Weather Warning and Impacts Galway City (23 October 2026)
- Galway City Council: Storm Boelo – Weather Warning and Impacts, Saturday 24.10.2026 (24 October 2026)
- Galway Daily: Storm Boelo: Orange weather warning issued for Galway (23 October 2026)
Featured image: View of Kylemore Abbey and Pollacappall Lough from the slope of Diamond Hill (2014) by JoachimKohler-HB, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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