The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-08 00:00:00

i PRICE SD.

DESTRUCTIVE FLOODS IN IRELAND.

CORK, Nov. 5. —As yet it is impossible to state how
many persons lost their lives by the melancholy acci-
dent on Patrick's-bridge on Wednesday. The police
have not received any names of persons missing, in ad-
dition to those we reported on Thursday ; but the
names of several persons are given as not having been
seen since the calamitous occurrence.

On the subsiding of the flood, the city magistrates
entered, with the most commendable promptitude, into
arrangements for supplying the people residing along
the Marsh, where the greatest injury was done, with
bread, coals, and other necessaries ; and on Thursday, a
number of the constabulary were appointed to distri-
bute relief, when, from their returns, they assisted
with bread, bedding, and fuel, one hundred and fifty
families. This relief has been still continued, and
the number of recipients considerably increased.
In the course of Thursday, the districts most
injured were visited by the Mayor, Archdeacon
Kyle, and several other gentlemen, with a view.
of ascertaining the amount of drainage done, and the
best means of alleviating the miseries of those who had
suffered. In the neighbourhood of Duncan-street, Mil-
lar-street, and Nile-street, injuries to a very serious ex-
tent have been done to the houses, the foundations 'of
which have sustained damages of an important charac-
ter, The rooms in other houses are perfectly saturated
with wet ; the doors swept away as well as the articles
of furniture which the rooms contained. The entire flat
of the city, embracing the parishes of St. Peter, St.
Paul, and the Holy Trinity, has suffered from. this fear-
ful inundation, and it is to be feared that many lives,
be-
sides those which were lost at Patrick's-bridge, have
fallen victims to its devastating ravages.. We learn 2 that
a body has been seen floating out of this harbour ; that
a gentleman standing on Parliaments-bridge saw a raft
bearing three women and two men passing under, who
have not been since heard of ; and that a woman while
washing some clothes at the Gill-abbey slip observed the
bodies of two females carried along by the torrent.
It was about 12 o'clock on Wednesday when the tor-
rent of water rushed "down the Western-road, from the
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to Mr. Cunninghame, of the Queen's College, and re-
quested him to get his boat in readiness. This was a
work of great difficulty and danger, considering the
position in which the boat lay ; Mr. Cunningham and
three of the turnkeys, named Wm. Stevenson, Burns,
and Flinn, being obliged to drag it up a sharp ascent
against the flood. They, however, succeeded in getting
it on the road, and proceeded to the residence of Mrs.
Haines, on the Western-terrace. The turnkeys, who
were up to the middle in the water, carried this lady arid
her children out of the house on their shoulders, placed
them in the boat, and conveyed them in safety to the
college. Mrs. Wilson, who was carried on her son's
back to the boat, was also placed in the college
along with another family. In the yard of one of
the houses on the terrace were two cows, on which
the water was fast rising, and which would, in a
few minutes more, have been drowned, had not Mr.
Cunningham and the turnkeys came up, and, catching
them by the horns, actually pulled them by main force
into the parlour, which the inmates of the house only a
short time previously were forced to vacate. In that
novel byre the cows remained until Thursday morning.
While the turnkeys were engaged in their laudable ex-
ertions, they were several times knocked down by the
force of the current ; one of the porters of the college
fell, and would inevitably have been drowned, had not
Mr. Cunningham caught him by the collar, and dragged
him to the boat.

From information which has reached us this morning,
it is to be apprehended that the catastrophe of Patrick's-
bridge has been attended with a much larger sacrifice of
human life than was at first anticipated. A person who
was standing in the vicinity of the portion of the bridge
which fell in states that at the time the accident oc-
curred he saw a young lad, decently dressed in a short
blue jacket and cloth cap, holding on by the coping
stone, which he ultimately had to relinquish, and was
borne down the torrent ; a person having the appear.
ance of a child's maid, with two respectably dressed
children, is also stated to have been standing on the part
that gave way, and has not been since heard of; and a
country woman named Murphy, and a girl having the
appearance of a servant, were seen to fall into the river.
Three country men who were engaged in a barn at Fair-
hill, at the time the flood visited that locality, have not
been heard of since. No bodies have yet been dis-
covered, and it is most probable that all who perished
on that memorable day have been carried out to sea.
At Riverstown a poor boy, named Mulcahy, while
crossing a plank at Denees tucking mill, on Wednesday,
was washed into the mill-stream, which was swollen
by the flood, and before assistance could be rendered he
he was drowned.

FERMOY, Nov. 2.—1 regret to have to inform you that
an awful destruction of property, &c., occurred here this
day, occasioned by a tremendous quantity of rain which
fell here and in the west of this county. during the last
week. About eight o'clock this morning the Blackwater
river was very much flooded, bringing on its surface
several cocks of hay, large timber, &c. In half an hour
it presented a most terrific appearance, sweepinc, away
a portion of the bridge, gas lamps, coal sheds, &c. The
inhabitants, seeing the sudden rise of the flood, which
threatened destruction, rushed to their houses and were
quickly pursued by the flood, which immediately filled
the shops and warehouses on the square. It here rushed
along, and took its course down Patrick-street, filling
all the shops and warehouses to the height of eight feet
in a few minutes. Nothing could describe the scene—
all the people up to their arm-pits engaged in putting
up shutters, and taking other precautions. The flood
swepliall before it from the square to the court-house.
You may orm an opinion of its velocity, when I tell
you that it broke into the warehouse of Mrs. Mary
O'Gorman, and rushed through, breaking a strong gate,
and carrying away casks, hogsheads, barrels, &c., and
forced away a cask of tallow, weighing, I am told
11 cwt. 3 qrs. 23 lbs., which was only secured by her
eldest son, Edmund O'Gorman, who proved himself an
expert swimmer. All houses suffered in like manner.
Had this taken place at night, the destruction of human
life would, no doubt, have been great. As yet I have
heard of no lives being lost. The only mode of commu-
nication was on the leads of the houses. The flood has
now abated, at five o'clock.
LlSMORE.—Extract of a private letter received in Cork
this morning, and dated Lismore, Nov. 3 :—" We have
had quite a deluge here for the last four days. All
the bridges over the Blackwater from Mallow to Lis-
more have been cleared off their foundations. Fermoy,
Ballyduff, and the Lismore bridges have been cut quite
through. Five arches of Lismore bridge have been
swept away. Cattle, corn, hay, timber, a lot of old
houses, haggards, &c., have all come down the river.
There Is a report of some lives having been lost about
Lismore. One poor fellow between this and Cappoquin,
perceiving the water coming down like a wall of molten
lead, ran to drive away his employer's cows ; he was
overtaken by the element, and, with much difficulty,
clambered up a tree far out on the inches, and there he
has remained since four o'clock last evening in a pitiable
state.—Cork Reporter.

VILLERSTOWN, Nov. 3.—We were visited in this lo-
cality with very heavy floods yesterday. There are
awful reports of damage being done to property, and
cows, horses, &c. ; both corn and hay are floating down
the river here, and a deal of timber. The mail car from
Cahir to Lismore had to bring the mail to Cappoquin
this morning, as it could not get the mail over the river
to Lismore. Great /damage has been done along the
river Bride, which swept down by the Dromore banks
this morning a good deal of property of various kinds.
—TVaterford Mail.
LIMERICK. —The flood and spring tide of Tuesday
morning did considerable damage in many villages bor-
dering the Lower Shannon, about nine miles below this
city, and had there been a strong westerly wind localities
nearer to Limerick would have also sustained as serious
injury and loss probably as the city of Cork and other
places, as a tempestuous inundation of such magnitude
would have torn up the embankments at both sides of
the river, laying prostrate numerous dwellings, and
sweeping off crops and cattle. At Adare the flood tore
away the battlement of the bridge, rendering it impas-
sable for pedestrians or public or private vehicles for
the last three days. At Herbertstown a bridge was also
much damaged, and it is feared will have to be taken
down. Several of the country mails due on Wednesday
night did not arrive until next day ; but it is a satisfac-
tion to add, we have heard of no loss of life in this
neighbourhood. The wooden bridge on the river Deel,
between Newcastle and Castlemahon, was swept away
in by the 'flood on Wednesday. Several farmers 0
neighbourhood of Newcastle and the neighbouring._
parishes had their hay, corn, and sheep carried
the floods. Six men returning from the fair of
Castle-
island on Tuesday night were drowned in attempting
cross the mountain rivers. There was great
of farming and hou.se property in Bruree,and
levelled by the
cabins in the village were
cottages and several
floods.--Limerick Chronicle. h r
ed prior
CLONMEL —The heavy rains whien d
since p evaillvednes today
our last publication have ceased, a_
the weather has been pretty fine. The
afloodgreinatthdeearil of
has fallen considerably, but not until
damage had been done on the lands in the vicinity of its
banks.—Free Press.

THE RIVER PLATE.—The favourable news from the
River Plate describing the continuance of complete po-
litical quiet at Buenos Ayres and
,the revival of active
trade, did not produce much effect on the bonds of that
State, the only transaction having been at rg
, While the
last previous quotation on the 3d inst. was 58. With
regard to the condition of affairs at 111lontevideo, much
satisfaction is expressed in the private
petters from that
place at the retirement or flight of the res
bi dye n
thet , whosebetter
policy had long been regarded with distrust
part of the population. One opinion only is said to
have prevailed as to the importance of the event in con-
nexion witfh theis future progressur of the country. The
b
necessitor h depart e is described as not having
been caused b y any of the usual South American intri-
incapacity. gues, or the rival of military chiefs, but simply by his