Three fishermen rescued in Kinsale Harbour

Three fishermen were recovering in Kinsale, Co Cork, on Sunday night after they were rescued by the local RNLI lifeboat when their trawler hit rocks and sank while entering Kinsale Harbour in stormy conditions.

The three Portuguese nationals were all plucked from the water by the RNLI boat after sending off a rescue signal from their trawler, the Sean Anthony.

The trawler hit rocks at the western side of the harbour and started taking in water at about 6.10pm on Sunday.

The rescue operation came as strong winds continued to lash the south and southwest coast.

An orange weather warning issued by Met Éireann remains in place and Cork County Council emergency crews are on high alert as high tides pose a risk of flooding.

In Cobh, strong winds and high tides caused a yacht to break free from its moorings before being thrown up on the beach at Whitepoint, where it damaged railings and the quay wall.

In Youghal, high tides caused flooding in low-lying areas of the town.

The high tides also led to the closure of South Terrace, Copley Street and Union Quay in Cork city, while flooding was also reported on Fr Matthew Quay.

Earlier on Sunday there had been flooding on most of the quays along the south channel, as well as some flooding on Oliver Plunkett St, Victoria Road and Centre Park Road.

However, gardaí said the flooding in the city centre was not as bad as the flooding in November 2009.

Midleton flooding

In Midleton, there was flooding on Bailick Road and at Bonnog near the estuary.

There was also some flooding on Lower Main Street in the town.

High tides led to some flooding on the Crosshaven Road, Strand Road and Main Street in Carrigaline early on Sunday morning and on Bridge Street, Ring Road and Inchidoney Road in Clonakilty.

According to Cork County Council, its severe assessment team is monitoring the situation

The council also said that flooding occurred on Short Quay, Pier Road and World’s End in Kinsale, where council crews worked to clear seaweed and fish boxes from the road after flooding on Sunday morning.

On Sunday evening gardaí in Kinsale closed off the road at World’s End and the Causeway after high tides caused flooding which made the roadway impassable.