16-05-2025
Mayo school left without phone connection for almost four months following Storm Éowyn
Barnacogue National School in east Mayo have not been able to receive phone calls since the storm on January 24.
One-hundred-and-eleven days after the record-breaking storm, the school issued an appeal to help them 'connect back with the rest of the world'.
In a statement on Facebook, Barnacogue National School said: 'Our phone sounds as though it is ringing, but it isn't and we can't access any messages left.
'We have no phone line since Storm Éowyn and we are not having any luck having it reconnected. Our contract is with Vodafone Ireland , but they are blaming eir. It appears that small rural areas are not important to these companies.
'If an emergency arises in our school, we have to go out to the side of the road to make a call because we have no mobile phone coverage in our school either.'
Anyone seeking to contact the school is asked to email the school.
'If anyone anywhere can help us to connect back with the rest of the world, your assistance would be greatly appreciated,' the school stated.
A number of premises throughout Mayo remain without landline or broadband connections since Storm Éowyn.
Local Sinn Féin councillor Gerry Murray said the state should nationalise eir to ensure adequate provision of services in rural Ireland.
'If eir was owned by the government, that job would have been sorted a long time ago. But unfortunately, you are dealing with a private utility. You are literally at their mercy,' Mr Murray told the Irish Independent.
There are 23 students enrolled in Barnacogue National School which is situated near Ireland West Airport Knock.
