'There’s always someone worse off': Meath restaurant rebuilds after second flood
Louise Walsh
A business owner whose restaurant was flooded twice in two weeks said, 'there's always someone worse off ' as she threw brand new flooring into a skip and worked through the night to reopen on Saturday.
Ciara Burke felt the love on Valentine's Day as the local community packed Sage & Stone in Duleek, Co Meath, to show their support to the local eatery, which was again impacted by the heavy rain on Thursday night.
The businesswoman had to shut her restaurant for over a week and get new flooring and paint after rising waters during Storm Chandra seeped up through the concrete.
However, a well-deserved break after re-opening last week was short-lived when she received a call to say that Thursday night's heavy rain had again swamped the premises.
"I was down the country for a break away after the initial flooding when my daughter rang me on Friday morning to say the water was up to their knees, worse than the last time," she said.
"The River Nanny burst its banks and the land was already saturated. But we really didn't expect this again. I don't remember as much rain since 1982.
"The last time, I had dehumidifiers on the go and got the place painted and refloored. I did as much as I could outside but the ground is so wet, you couldn't get a digger on it to clear drains, which I do every year anyway.
"The water was actually higher this time in the restaurant."
Although devastated, Ciara said that the support from her staff, customers and local businesses "kept her going."
"I was devastated on Friday morning and obviously came straight home. But the community kept me going. I can't give up. There's always someone worse off than me and that's the way I look at it.
"A hotel called to say they would buy any perishable goods from me and another restaurant offered a free meal to myself and my family.
"My staff gave me their all. We threw the brand new flooring in the skip and worked through the night to deep clean the place and I reopened for Valentine's Day.
"We may have cement floors at the minute but the place was packed on Saturday morning as everyone came out to support me and my staff."
