A MAN WAS injured after he became trapped beneath a gate that had blown open on top of him during Storm Brendan this morning.

One of the man’s legs became trapped beneath the gate after it knocked him to the ground. The incident happened at the GAA’s Cusack Park grounds in Ennis at around 11am.

Fire crews from nearby Ennis station were called to the scene to assist National Ambulance Service paramedics. Fire service personnel had use specialist equipment to help free the man.

They deployed a device known as a spreaders to allow them lift the gate off the man’s leg. The man was not seriously hurt and while he was treated at the scene by paramedics. It is not known whether the man was hospitalised.

The GAA in Clare has been requested to comment.

Storm Brendan also affected operations at Shannon Airport. A number of flights to and from the mid-west airport had to be cancelled because of the high crosswinds. Two other flights were diverted to Cork Airport.

The affected flights included six Aer Lingus services to and from Edinburgh, Birmingham and London. Two Ryanair flights, from Manchester and London Stansted, had to be diverted from Shannon to Cork. 

Shannon Airport advised passengers on later flights that they should expect delays and to check with their airline.

Meanwhile, as the country’s second most popular tourist attraction remained closed today, dozens of people ignored the warnings and braved the over 100km/m winds to view the spectacular Cliffs of Moher.

The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre (CoMVC) was closed to the public because of Storm Brendan but the cliffs continued to attract curious onlookers.

Several thousand homes and businesses have been left without power in Clare this evening. The worst affected area was in Tullabrack, Cooraclare where at one point, almost 3,000 customers lost their electricity.

ESB crews were working to restore power last evening however the ESB Powercheck app was unable to provide a restoration time.

Outages in the Clonlara, Tulla and Kilmaley areas were repaired within a few hours.

The next high tide in Clare is due at around 7.30pm and while winds are expected to die down in the coming hours, westerly winds are forecast to reach between 60 and 70 kilometres an hour at around the same as high water.