Updated at 13.10pm

THE BIG CLEAN-UP is under way this afternoon, after some homes and businesses were damaged in flash flooding overnight.

A prolonged heavy, thundery downpour in the Dublin area caused an “eruption” in call-outs for the city’s fire brigade, a spokesperson for the service said. Midleton in Cork was also badly affected, with some damage caused to buildings on the town’s main street.

The deluge in calls to Dublin Fire Brigade began at around midnight, the spokesperson told TheJournal.ie, adding that the situation was back to normal within a few hours. At the height of the storm, 20 units were out dealing with flooding and related problems.

“From around two minutes past midnight there was an eruption in calls – at one stage we had every unit out,” the spokesperson said.

“We were getting calls from all over. On the northside – from Ballymun and Glasnevin – to Dolphin’s Barn and The Coombe”.

Gardaí said there had been no reports of any serious injuries caused by the stormy weather, and Dublin City Council said there were no “major flooding incidents”.

A small number of patients had to be transferred to new beds at Dublin’s Mater Hospital after damage to the roof of the facility’s High Dependency Unit. A spokesperson for the hospital said the area was above nurses’ station, and that the problem wasn’t serious.

Wexford Street, Dublin. Around midnight (Image: Abie Philbin Bowman)

Some businesses have been left counting the cost – the roof of the landmark Clerys Department Store was badly damaged in the storm, and the shop is to remain closed today. According to management:

This morning at approximately ten minutes past midnight, the Clerys Department Store building on O’Connell Street, Dublin, incurred damage during a period of heavy rainfall combined with thunder and lightening.

The Store is currently closed due to damage assessment being carried out.

The entrance to Clerys on O’Connell Street, pictured this morning (Image: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

Dublin City Council said its drainage crews responded to a number of flooding incidents throughout the night, but that there were no serious issues – with road flooding quickly abating. According to a statement:

The Council is aware of flooding in a small number of basements and has responded to these. Drainage Response Crew will remain on alert throughout the day and respond to any issues which may arise.

The public can report concerns at 222 2222.

A unit of the fire brigade was called out to deal with drainage problems outside the popular Doyle’s Pub close to Trinity College, but a staff member at the bar told TheJournal.ie they were fully open this afternoon, and that the interior had not been affected.

The scene at Doyles in Dublin city centre this morning (Image: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

A press officer in Trinity College said there had been no major problems at the university overnight, and that that they were “categorically not under-water”.

TheJournal.ie’s concern was prompted by the image below, posted by Jack Leahy of TCD Students’ Union at around midnight.

(Image: Jack Leahy)

In Cork county, shop-owners and householders in the centre of Midleton are continuing their clean-up operation, after rising floodwaters hit the area overnight.

According to AA Roadwatch, most flood waters have now subsiding, but motorists in Wicklow are being warned of some lingering surface water on the county’s roads this afternoon.

DART services are still off between Greystones and Bray as a result of lightning damage overnight. Irish Rail says the problem is expected to continue for the rest of the day as repairs are carried out.

Full rail services are now back in operation on the Maynooth & M3 Parkway to Clonsilla line following an earlier fault.

In terms of further downpours – Met Éireann says there’s an “ongoing threat of thunder and spot flooding” for the rest of the day, mainly across the northwest of the country. Scattered thunderstorms are also forecast for tonight.

If you were lucky enough to sleep through last night’s dramatic weather, check out this footage taken by Conor Steenson in Dublin:

(Youtube: Conor Steenson)

Kilkenny was also hit by the thunder and lightning, as filmed below by ‘Dave Knoximus’.

The footage captures a power cut in the city at around the 2m 40s mark. (Note: ‘Dave’ makes frequent use of the f-word throughout this):

(Youtube: Dave Knoximus )

A spokesperson for the ESB told TheJournal.ie there were no reports of lasting outages in the Kilkenny area. There were, however, elsewhere.

- An earlier version of this story was posted at 8.15am