WATCH Biodiverse Farm Project Braces for Storm Floris Blast
A woman restoring a 200-year-old abandoned stone cottage in the west of Ireland has shared her experience preparing for Storm Floris, which swept across the country on Monday morning with gusts exceeding 100 km/h in the northwest.
Morrigan’s Cottage, nestled on just under four acres of wet, boggy land, is being lovingly brought back to life after years of neglect. The traditional farmhouse dates back to the early 1800s and was originally home to local farmers who rented the land from British landlords. It remained continuously inhabited and farmed until about four years ago, when the previous owners left it vacant.
One of the current co-owners, Aisling, described the suddenness of the storm: “This storm came out of nowhere. We weren’t really prepared for it at all.”
The restoration project includes transforming the soggy terrain into a biodiverse hobby farm.
Born and raised in Dublin, Aisling has documented the restoration project on YouTube. She said, “Rural life and gardening was all new to me until I moved and lived in Rural Canada for nearly 10 years. After moving back to Ireland a year ago, I started chasing the dream of leaving city life behind, and purchasing an old Irish cottage on the west coast.”
Ireland endured its windiest day since February as Storm Floris swept across the country on Monday morning, knocking out power to more than 10,000 homes and businesses in the west and northwest.
While no significant structural damage has been reported, the storm delivered powerful gusts and caused widespread disruption, particularly in coastal and upland areas. ESB Networks confirmed ongoing efforts to restore electricity across affected regions, with crews working through challenging conditions.
Malin Head in County Donegal bore the brunt of the storm, recording a peak gust of 104.5 km/h at 8.00am — the highest in Ireland since Valentia Observatory reported 109 km/h during a storm on February 20th.
Other notable gusts recorded during Storm Floris include:
- 94 km/h at Magilligan, Co. Derry
- 90 km/h at Ballypatrick Forest (Antrim), Mace Head (Galway), and Finner (Donegal)
- 86 km/h at Belmullet, Co. Mayo
- 85 km/h at Casement Aerodrome, Dublin
