Stephen Donnelly's predictions that Trampolines could be more dangerous to children came true this morning in Kilkenny, however not in the way he might have expected.
Residents, pedestrians, and motorists on the Castlecomer Road in the Marble City had an extremely lucky escape when a Trampoline was just metres away from flying across one of the busiest streets in the city, in the middle of rush hour.
With Storm Barra battering its way across the country, the Marble County has been placed under a Yellow Warning for wind and rain.
However, it was red alert when a Trampoline caught a gust of wind, and went flying toward the road, as students from the nearby Kilkenny College made their way into class.
Twitter user Ryan Hitchcock caught the end of the incident, with Fire Brigade on scene to seal off the area.
Spotted in Kilkenny today.... Do you know what, perhaps @DonnellyStephen was right... If a child had been on that they'd be absolutely mangled. #StormBarra @newschambers pic.twitter.com/HUtoDWKkpp
— Ryan Hitchcock (@rhit5) December 7, 2021
It seems like the Trampoline took flight, and only having gotten stuck in a hedge in a nearby garden, and blocked by an electricity pole, it could have rolled its way out onto the Castlecomer Road.
Gardaí in Kilkenny also tweeted a picture of the potentially deadly toy, reminding people to tie down their garden fixings during the storm, which has seen Hurricane-type winds recorded on Fastnet Rock, off the coast of County Cork.
Power has been an issue elsewhere in the county however. Over 1,200 homes were without it in Castlecomer this morning, however the hard-working ESB teams had many of those customers back on the grid within a half-hour, but some homes in the area are still without electricity.
A rogue trampoline was also reported this morning in North Tipperary, at the turnoff for Moyglass at Coolbawn Cross.
Thankfully, no injuries have been reported from either incident.
