Trinity will remain open tomorrow, October 16, despite the approach of Hurricane Ophelia. Speaking to Trinity News, College’s 24 hour security team said: “College will remain as normal tonight during the storm and will be open tomorrow.” The team also noted that “Nassau street entrance will be closed. However, this is due to renovations”.
In a statement made through their facebook page, University College Cork (UCC) will be closed tomorrow “ to ensure the safety of students” . University of Limerick (UL) will also be closed. Dublin College University (DCU) has closed part of its campus in Ballymun until tomorrow evening.
Court services across the country have been cancelled with school closures in areas of red weather warnings. The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) has stated that the Mayo, Letterfrack, Mountbellew and the Galway School of Design and Creative Arts will be closed.
The main GMIT campus on the Dublin Road is to remain open for now, but this decision is currently under review. Tralee Institute of Technology (TIT) and Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) will also be closed. University College Dublin (UCD) and Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) have not made a public announcement on the storm as yet.
The hurricane is expected to make landfall by 6 o’clock tomorrow morning, October 16, and is predicted by Met Éireann to be one of the worst storms to hit the country in over 50 years, with status red weather warnings across the south and west of Ireland. Dublin has been issued a status orange weather warning. Met Éireann has said that gusts are expected to reach between 110 and 130 km per hour in the county, with the winds having “potential to cause structural damage and disruption”. Mean wind speeds in Dublin are predicted to reach 80 km per hour.
The storm is set to leave the country late tomorrow night across Antrim. According to Radió Téilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the “last comparable storm” to reach Ireland was Storm Debbie in 1961 which left 11 people dead. The storm, which is currently crossing over the Atlantic, has winds with speeds of 145 km per hour. Winds in excess of 130 km per hour are expected to hit Ireland tomorrow morning.
Additional reporting done by Sarah Meehan.
