Four families fight the floods in Brick Island

Four families battled against the odds in Brick Island last week in a bid to keep water from their homes. One of the houses however, the home of Adrian Quinn, did flood, but the family quickly got the water from the house and managed to save their personal belongings. There are four houses in Brick Island and all of the 17 inhabitants are related. The two homes most at risk were those of Adrian and his brother-in-law James Green. And while it was extremely tiring and emotionally draining to keep the water at bay, the families remained in good spirits last week and paid tribute to all those who helped them keep the water from destroying their homes. "Only for friends and family and well wishers coming down, we'd be lost. There have been 35 people each day helping us and we've had people bringing down food. Only for them we wouldn't be here," said Adrian. He mentioned, in particular, Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, staff at Dunnes Stores where he works, taxi drivers and the army, who all helped out in some way. Adrian explained that he and his brother-in-law James Green were taking turns monitoring the pumps to make sure they didn't malfunction and continued to work around the clock. Emmett McLoughlin, whose grandparents also live in Brick Island, was on hand to help in the battle against the flood water. He explained that as well as surrounding the four houses with sandbags, they had created a makeshift dam by piling soil high along the ground in a bid to slow the water. Emmett added that they first realised there could be serious problems the previous Saturday and Wednesday had been the worst day. And while it was a battle to keep the water from their homes, Adrian was aware that many people were in more dire situations. "We're not as bad as some people. We're insured and we're just the weather will change and everything will be ok. We can't do anything more," he said.