The operators of a community social enterprise in West Donegal have been left devastated after up to €50,000 of damage was caused to their operation by Storm Éowyn.
Cill Ulta in Falcarragh is a community project which supplies sustainable food to restaurants and homes and provides employment for up to fifteen people.
However, it is one of a number of projects which has been left severely damaged by the gale-force winds of last Friday’s storm.
Operators of the project estimate that up to 100 panes of glass have been smashed by the storm while three of the large grow tunnels were also badly damaged.
The group were already “trying to get over the hump” after winds previously damaged a further three of the grow tunnels just last December.
Spokesperson for the centre, Eithne Nic Lochlainn, said she is trying to put on a brave face and accepts that thankfully nobody was hurt or injured during the incident.
However, the devastation caused by the impact of the storm has left all connected with Cill Ulta very disheartened.
She told Donegal Daily “We’ve had storms before and that’s nothing new in Falcarragh. Only last December we had three of our tunnels damaged by the winds.
“But this is definitely the worst to date. I’d estimate that between ninety and one hundred panes of glass are broken and there is damage to three more tunnels with one being very bad.”
Thankfully, the only really crops growing in the tunnels at present is garlic.
Eithne says the group do not have insurance for the glasshouses or tunnels as it is impossible to get.
She is also not sure if the project qualifies for any funding or aid under the humanitarian relief fund announced by the Government in recent days.
She adds “In the grand scheme of things we did not lose a house and, as I said already, nobody was hurt thankfully.
“But this project means a lot to so many people. Only this morning I had to tell a Transition Year student to go home because I did not want them getting hurt with all the broken glass.
“It’s just so hard to take again. Hopefully, we can qualify for some relief or something but for the moment we have to get on with cleaning things up.”
