PUBLICAN FIGHTS RISING TIDE OF FLOOD HEARTACHE
A businessman whose Fermoy pub sustained €10,000 worth of flood damage has already dusted himself off and has been working hard to bring his licensed premises back to its original condition.
The unforgiving and relentless force of water dismayed Richard O’Flynn of The Avondhu Bar at Brian Boru Square. “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” he told The Avondhu.
Richard suffered a €10,000 sucker punch through the loss in revenue while the business was closed, damage from the flood itself and the renovation work that will be now needed to bring the pub back to its original condition.
The flood damaged the walls, floors and toilets while the music gear, pool table and cigarette machine were also badly hit. A dehumidifier had to be used to dry out the premises.
Richard could be considered somewhat fortunate in that he was a qualified painter before he got involved in the pub trade, so he can use his own expertise.
“The water was four to five feet deep inside the bar. It was almost as high as the counter and I was up to my waist in it. I came in on Thursday at around 11pm and I was there until 5am. We made a good effort to get the place back together. You can rest assured that The Avondhu Bar will be back to what it was before,” he vouched this week.
The pub, which was visited by the Health and Safety Authority after the flood, got the green light to continue trading.
“They were quite impressed with the effort we put in to get the place back together so fast”, Mr O’Flynn continued.
He went on to thank his family, friends, among them, Noel Fenton, Fermoy mayor, Noel McCarthy, and Cllr John Murphy who offered their assistance, and, not least, the Fermoy Fire Brigade, who came to help power hose the premises. This was Richard’s first flood experience, one that he doesn’t want to go through again.
“I’ve only been leasing the ground floor here for 12 months and we’ve put in a lot of hard work. I took a chance, but if this happens again, it will put me out of business. It’s tough going as it is and I just couldn’t afford it. I’m all for the flood plan. It has been a success in Mallow, so I hope it will work here too,” Richard said.
He criticised the scarcity of sand bags in advance of the flood as well as the sustained trips back and forth undertaken by the army truck to ‘mainly satisfy the curiosity of residents in the area’.
With the flood now behind him, Richard is looking forward to a brighter future. Black Rose, the band that was scheduled to perform on the day of the wash out, will now play instead on this Friday, December 4 from 10pm until closing time.
Published:
Thursday 3rd December 6:00pm
