AS THE cold and ice blanketed Limerick this past week, and power and water was out in thousands of homes and businesses across the county, Gardaí were working hard in sub-zero conditions to make sure people were safe and as comfortable as possible.
As many as 10,000 homes were left without power and water during the first days of the harsh cold snap, with up to two feet of snow falling in some parts of the county.
Many were left snowed into their homes completely, with some reports in the county of elderly and vulnerable people running short on food and medicine on account of them not being able to get out of their homes to go to the shop or pharmacy and with no power to run cooking appliances for a hot meal.
As the pressure, and the snow, mounted, Gardaí were working hard across the county to keep life moving.
On Wednesday (January 8), Gardaí responded to a call from an elderly couple in Athea who were completely snowed into their home, with no possibility of getting out.
A post on the An Garda Síochána Limerick Facebook page said that officers going out to help the trapped couple in their Garda 4×4 “could barely make it through the snow”.
Once they made it out to the scared couple, Gardaí, in complete darkness at 2am and in sub-zero temperatures, managed to clear a path for the residents with shovels.
“Thankfully everyone was okay and we have arranged for further visits,” the post said.
Two days earlier, on January 7, Garda John Clifford helped make a life-saving delivery of medicine to a family in Doon, and stopped in to check on elderly local farmer Mike and his wife.
Despite the multiple feet of snow, it was football that was the topic of conversation between Garda Clifford and farmer Mike, who are both born Kerry men.
The Limerick Garda Facebook page posted that Sergeant Dave Callanan and Jamie Jordan were tending to conditions in Newcastle West past 2.30am on January 5, braving the conditions on foot for check for those in need of assistance because “the legs could go where the tyres couldn’t”.
Also on Wednesday (January 8), Gardaí took the time to make sure the team from St Munchin’s Community Centre’s Meals on Wheels team got where they needed to go.
Officers accompanied St Munchin’s team members on their rounds, helping deliver hot meals and supplies door-to-door to people in Limerick and parts of Clare who needed them most as the snow and ice stuck thick on the ground.
