Giant floating Christmas tree in Limerick

Sceala Philosopher Location: Carlow

Stop over in Limerick for a family wedding. Saw it all happen, exciting but sad as well.
It is on youtube, sorry people, I do not know how to make them show on here. search for Limerick Christmas tree crash or Limerick Christmas tree gets towed.
Christmas tree rescue operation continues
'We won't let kids down', vows engineering boss
By Mike Dwane
A rescue operation on Limerick's 100-ft eco-friendly floating Christmas tree resumed this Saturday morning when it again tilted in severe weather conditions on the Shannon.
Disaster appeared to have averted at the Shannon Bridge shortly after 11pm last night when Limerick Fire Service, Limerick Marine Search and Rescue, specialist winching contractors and the manufacturers of the tree, Speedline Engineering in Moyross, managed to right the tree, which is made from recycled metal from the Thomond Park and Limerick Tunnel construction sites.

Shortly after 5pm on Friday, it was dragged down the river in a tremendous flood and crashed into the Shannon Bridge. Gardai had to temporarily close off the quayside and the bridge to traffic as salvage teams tried to manouevre the tree into an upright position, which took six hours.

It was moored next to the marine monument at Spokhane Walk and hopes were high last night that it would be tugged back up to its original position by Poor Man's Kilkee and the lights could be switched on a day later than planned.

The switching on ceremony was supposed to take place at 6pm, coinciding with boxer Andy Lee turning on the lights in the city centre.

The tree was being tugged into position when it somehow broke loose and was swept down the Shannon in a raging torrent. At one point, the pontoon was wedged under the bridge and the tree tilted at a 45 degree angle and traffic was diverted as a precaution.

"It was an act of god but thanks to the co-operation on everybody here tonight, we managed to save it and we're thrilled. It will light up. We won't let the kids down," said Ray O'Halloran, Speedline Engineering, at around 1am on Saturday.

The steel structure weighs 12 tonnes and rests on a pontoon weighing another eight tonnes. But it could have been carried down the Estuary and lost if it hadn't hit the Shannon Bridge on Friday evening.

Mr O'Halloran said the tree "was actually in situ but was dragged down the river because of an incredible surge of water. The tug pilot said he had never seen the Shannon in flood like that in his whole life".

Paul McCarthy, of McCarthy Recovery in Drombanna, said "it was certainly the oddest call I ever had, you don't expect to spend six hours on a Friday night trying to catch a giant Christmas tree".

Mr McCarthy's firm supplied two heavy duty winches as efforts got underway to stabilise the listing tree.

Scott Keenan, senior assistant chief fire officer, said Friday night's operation had been "complex and unusual" and involved judging the tides and the rate of flow and combining the skills of various emergency services and specialist contractors.

"It does show the adaptability the emergency services have to show in any given situation. We managed to preserve the integrity of the structure (the tree) while also having to ensure there was no damage to suurounding structures," he said.

Mr Keenan said Council engineers had carried out an assessment and determined there was no significant damage to the Shannon Bridge itself.

While the tree looked battered, Mr O'Halloran said he was satisfied the "structure has been shown to be sound", adding the "kinks" in the metalwork could be easily repaired.
But with Ireland being battered by record rainfall, things took a turn for the worse overnight and the tree again began to lean on the in-flood river at around 8am. The strong current casued it to tilt at a 60 degree angle. Henry Street gardai said emergency crews had again been despatched to the scene "as a precaution and in the interests of health and safety".

Council officials said any plans to reinstate to tree opposite Shannon Street this Saturday would depend on the chaging weather situation. The priority at the time of publication was moving it away from the Shannon Bridge and closer to Bishop's Quay.

While it remains unclear whether the tree can be lit this weekend, what is certain is that the Council faces a hefty bill for the ongoing rescue operation.

Meanwhile, Limerick seems to be escaping the flood devastation being visited on Cork and Ennis, with Council engineer Dave Keane saying on Friday flood barrier protection on Clancy and O'Callaghan Strands was doing its job and its "proactive gully-cleaning programme throughout the year" would help prevent localised flooding.

Fields were flooded along the Dublin Road after the Groody River burst its banks on Saturday but there were no reports of any significant damage to property.

Roxboro gardai said there was surface water at the Kilmallock Road roundabout on Saturday morning, but it remains open to traffic.

Local authorities in Limerick, Clare and Tippeary, meanwhile, have warned of more widespread potential flooding between Killaloe and Limerick in the coming days. Landowners between these points are being advised to exercise increased caution as a result of the huge volumes of water moving down the Shannon. Emergency services and the ESB at Ardnacrusha are continuing to monitor the situation and further updates will be issued as information becomes available.

Limerick City Council has an emergency number (061 417 833) for members of the public to report any problems.

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Giant floating Christmas tree in Limerick