Major relief effort for flood victims in west and midlands

A huge relief effort has been mobilised in Meath over the past week to provide assistance to the people of the west and midlands whose homes, businesses and farms have been devastated by floods. A massive convoy of trucks have been travelling west from Meath with fodder for animals which were in danger of starving on flooded farms in the Shannon basin. Meanwhile, a group of Ashbourne volunteers has also been loading articulated trucks with essential household items such as bedding, clothes and electrical equipment, also destined for flood-stricken families in the west. Dunderry farmer, Gus Martyn, who is originally from Galway, got together with other Meath farmers to organise a massive convoy of trucks laden with fodder for badly stricken west of Ireland farmers last week. "We decided to do this when we saw the television pictures of stranded farmers with nothing to feed their cattle," he said. Mr Martyn made a radio appeal to Meath farmers and hauliers to help send fodder to the west and the response was overwhelming. From Wednesday until Saturday, up to 20 lorryloads of essential fodder was sent across the Shannon from Meath farmers. Dunderry GAA pitch was used a a drop-off point for fodder and volunteers also collected from individual farmers' yards. "Even people who weren't farmers contributed by buying straw and meal to send to the west," Mr Martyn said. He paid tribute to McAuley's grassfeed factory at Balrath which donated 40 tonnes of meal to the convoy and Christy Reynolds, Walterstown, and Dunderry's Paddy Darcy, who were also instrumental in the relief effort. He said that as many farmers in the west had lost all their fodder and would need help through the winter, the relief effort would continue over the next month or two. While the relief effort started in Meath, farmers in Cavan, Monaghan and Louth also joined in the task and collection points were organised in Muff, Kingscourt, Drogheda and Dunleer. Meanwhile, a group of volunteers in Ashbourne has been collecing essential household items for flood victims who have lost their homes to the floodwaters. Cllr Joe Bonner and local farmer, William Ruiter, were initially collecting the goods in a barn at Mr Ruiter's farm, but the response was so overwhelming they are now using a warehouse unit, courtesy of Brian Smith, at the N2 Business Park as a base. They have opened a Flood Victim Support account at the AIB branch in Ashbourne to accept donations and are continuing to collect essential items such as clothes, bed linen and electrical items. "The response has been amazing and we are now appealing for volunteers to help sort and load the goods," he said. Two truckloads of aid have already been transported to the Red Cross in Ennis for distribution in the mid-west. Cllr Bonner said O'Neill's Transport was providing transport for the goods, McCabe's of Ashbourne had also offered assistance and SAICA Packaging had also helped with boxes and pallets. He said they were now also receiving donations from Dundalk, Drogheda and Carrickmacross and he thanked Diane Edwards and Bridie Lacey for their help over the last few days. Meanwhile, the proceeds of the agricultural show which takes place in Girley Hall on Sunday from 1.30pm will also go to the country's flood victims and Navan Shamrock Festival is holding a public meeting tonight (Wednesday) at 8pm in The Stonehouse, Kennedy Place, to organise the distribution of aid to flood victims. A 40 foot articulated lorry has been installed at Navan Town Centre, near the Pennys service yard, to collect goods. The Meath Chronicle and its staff have also been collecting aid, along with their colleagues in the Celtic Media Group, to send to flood victims in Athlone, where one of its sister titles, the Westmeath Indepemndent, is based.