Clarinbridge was the epicentre of flooding on a scale unlike any ever seen in Galway. Anne Ford of Poppyseeds spoke of how the town rallied together to get the businesses of Clarinbridge back on their feet in time for Christmas.
It was only last Friday, December 8th, that Anne Ford opened the double-doors to her hugely popular cafe once again. Rewind back to November and Clarinbridge was submerged under the wave of Storm Debi. Now, most of the businesses affected have reopened in what Anne described as a "whole village effort": "You have no idea how much appreciation we have for the people of Clarinbridge. We had an army of locals come down to help us. Their support has been invaluable."
Reminiscing on the day of the flooding, Anne feels that businesses in Clarinbridge were not adequately informed on the impending storm: "There was not that much chat the day before. We were told that East Galway was going to be affected. We were definitely misadvised." The next day Anne said that she went into "a state of shock", the water had forced its way through the double-doors and raged through her cafe leaving behind nothing but wreckage. The day consisted of cleaning up ebris, dragging tables and the initial floor had to be taken up entirely. MS Autos lost a total of 19 cars due to the flooding.
Anne admitted there were times where she questioned re-opening at all. However, it was the support of the local community that inspired her to put all hands on deck to get her cafe opened up again: "The community stood by us so now we have to open to return the favour. It really gives you affirmation in the work that we are doing seeing everyone's support." A number of other businesses in the locality have since re-opened including MS Autos, Pizza Max, and Clarinbridge Pharmacy. Lisa's Health & Beauty, and Londis are scheduled to re-open on December 18th, with Cooney's Barber and Hair Symphony aiming for the New Year.
In a token towards the nature and goodwill of the Irish people, the local community came together to show that Clarinbridge blood is thicker than water. Anne paid particular homage to Tidy Towns and the GAA for their efforts in rallying people to help clean debris and load skips: "As a sole trader you are so used to doing things on your own. Customers helped, people came to help on their lunch breaks, and people we did not even know came to help out. Local residents even did security through the night to prevent looting. It gives such hope and is a testament to the Irish essence of good nature."
In terms of protection, the businesses of Clarinbridge are virtually helpless. Business owners affected have been promised compensation similar to that distributed to the businesses in Middleton, Co. Cork, but they are unaware as to what extent this compensation applies to them: "Noel Grealish told us that he is pushing for higher than what was granted in Middleton. But we do not know what way it will be administered." With flood insurance "out of the question", Anne believes the county council have to stick to their word in attaining physical flooding protection for businesses: "We need immediate flooding defences of some type. We implore the county council to be very efficient in their commitment to this."
Since re-opening Anne said that business has been "steady busy". After such a turbulent last four weeks it is a relief that the business and the people of Clarinbridge can get back to some form of normality. Coming into the Christmas period, be sure to pay Clarinbridge a visit and show the affected businesses some support. In doing so you are sharing in the Advertiser's ethos of shopping local. By keeping business in Clarinbridge, you are keeping Clarinbridge in business.
