Achill Island could be without power this Christmas as ESB investigations show that earlier lightning strikes caused irreparable damage to the transformer that supplies the Island.

ESB Networks Crews will be working on this over the Christmas period, but it will be a few days before it is completed.

Customers experiencing a loss of supply are advised to check online at www.esbpowercheck.ie  to check if the fault has already been logged and get updates on when power is expected to be restored.

You can read the ESB’s full statement here. http://updatesfromesb.com/

Bernardine Maloney from ESB Networks says that Technicians are working on re-organising the network so that the customers from Achill can be supplied from stations further away.

Meanwhile, Fr Frank Mc Grath is parish priest in Achill, he says the 3,000 people living on the Island are anxiously waiting for power to be restored.

However, full power has been restored in Inishmore.

The Island was left completely without power this morning.

Valencia Coastguard, along with Shannon Coastguard helicopter helped to dispatch an ESB crew to the Island and the ESB say that full electricty is back up and running.

And, with severe wind's, the Taoiseach has issued an appeal to road users to exercise caution when driving on the countries roads this Christmas Eve.

The festive commute will reach it's peak this evening as thousands of people travel home for the holidays.

Motorists are being urged to be mindful of debris caused by the strong winds.