Ireland

Man says rubber clogs ‘probably saved my life’ after lightning strike

Farmer in midlands also shocked to find eight cattle dead after lightning strike

Image of some of the damage caused by lightening to a house in Cobh, Co Cork.

Olivia Kelleher
Tim O'Brien
Fri Aug 9 2019 - 19:34

A grandfather in Cobh, Co Cork whose house was badly damaged by lightning overnight has said the rubber clogs he had been wearing may have saved his life.

Terence Allcock was at home with his wife Jacqui and their grand daughter Kiana when his house was struck by lightning. He was watching TV when he heard a loud noise.

“I have never heard a bang as loud in my life ... I don’t know if I was knocked out or what but I just felt a jolt of energy surge through me ... it was like being hit with a sledgehammer, it was frightening. The house was in blackness. Kiana was screaming. There was smoke and you could feel it going into your lungs. I had a pair of rubber clogs on and they probably saved my life. ”

The trio went for shelter in the family car. The lightning caused a hole in the roof of their house, blew the doors and wardrobes off the wall, broke mirrors and blew the electrical sockets.

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Mr Allcock told the Neil Prendeville show on Cork’s Red FM that they were extremely fortunate that the house did not go on fire. The fire brigade were on the scene within minutes.

Two houses in Cobh were struck by lightning. Two units from Midleton also responded to reports of bales of hay on fire in a field close to junction 4 on the N25 at Carrigtwohill, Co Cork.

Meanwhile, a Co Offaly farmer has spoken of his shock at finding eight cattle dead in a field on Monday morning last - apparently all struck by lightning.

Gerry Larkin (68) from Moneygall was heading out herding when he approached a field where he believed he would find 10 cattle. However as he got near he said he could only see two standing. When he got closer he found eight lying dead on the ground "just like they had been shot".

There had been a heavy thunderstorm in the area on Sunday night and Mr Larkin told RTÉ’s News at One he determined very quickly the cattle had been electrocuted. The cattle, eight in-calf heifers, were part of a line bred by Mr Larkin and he said he felt their loss very keenly. “I bred them specially down along a family line of up to five generations, so they were very high-quality cattle,” he said.

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