1947 was the year of the so-called 'big snow'. The snow began in late January and it snowed heavily right through to early March. The cause of the great flood was that the thaw from the big snow came very rapidly in March due to warmer weather. The ensuing flood caused extensive damage to anywhere in close proximity to the River Nore. The river rose so high that some residents had to be rescued from the top floor windows of 2 storey houses. Photo in slideshow of a flooded John Street looking east.
One of the biggest fallouts from the flood was the collapse of the Talbots Inch suspension bridge. The bridge was built by Lady Desart to accommodate her mill workers safe crossing over the river from Talbot’s Inch Village. Photos included of the bridge in the slideshow above, of before and after the flood. The bridge has not been rebuilt since but the supports of the bridge on either side of the river can still be seen today.
Kilkenny incurred much flooding around this time and people relied on the skills of engineer Harry Shine, who used a series of gauges upstream to accurately predict flooding and gave people enough time to evacuate before the flood arrived. In recent years a new flood relief scheme has prevented the flooding problems that Kilkenny has had for centuries.
The Great Flood leaves it's mark
