Still no power, after seven days!

Six days on and 17 houses at Weldon’s Cross, Grange South, Mullingar, remain without electricity, according to irate resident Ann Corroon, an art and crafts teacher who has had to abandon her classes because of the power outage.

"In front of us is all lit up, behind us is all lit up, but there’s nothing here. Why are we not back? We are in the town, but are being bypassed the whole time!" Ann said.

"We can actually see the cables down," she said, adding that they are waiting anxiously to see when the hard hats of the ESB workers appear.

Ann says 17 houses are affected and, as it is an older estate, many of the residents are in their 80s and 90s. Ann’s husband Larry fell and broke his foot recently and he is hobbling around on crutches in candlelight, she said.

Kind neighbours have loaned them a camp light and a power bank "so we can at least charge our ‘phones".

"Otherwise, we’d have nothing," a grateful Ann acknowledged.

They are in their sixth day without power. "It went out on Friday morning. Trees knocked the wires," Ann said. She said that they have been given "false times" for the power coming back, "and now we are taking no heed of the notifications".

Ann has been teaching painting and acrylics to groups of children, adults and those with disabilities, as well as mosaic craft classes and children’s art camps for several years.

Having qualified as a SNA with training in art therapy workshops, she used that experience to open her own art studio in Grange South.

She is totally frustrated at the delay in restoring their power and the effect on her business and on the lives of her family and neighbours.