Investigate cause of Kilkenny water mains ‘bomb’, say councillors

A serious water mains ‘explosion’ that caused flooding of buildings and road closures needs to be investigated, say councillors in the Callan Thomastown Municipal District.

The centre of Thomastown was left impassable on the Friday of the May Bank Holiday when a water main under the junction of Market Street and Low Street burst, flooding nearby buildings and causing extensive damage to the road surface.

“As someone said, it was like a bomb went off with the damage there,” Cllr Deirdre Cullen, chair of the municipal district, described the town after the incident.
Now she is calling for an investigation into why the water main burst in such a major way.

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This is the third time a water main in the area has burst, Cllr Cullen said. “Are Uisce Eireann going to investigate? A lot of people have contacted me saying there is obviously a problem there with the water pressure. If they are not doing an investigation we should. Something is amiss.”

Area engineer Declan Murphy said he was being told the water pressure was a cause of the incident.
He said there had been leaks before but ‘nothing as bad’ as this most recent incident.

Contractors have already been on site to repair kerbing and a temporary road surface was put down on Wednesday night (May 7, 2025). Mr Murphy told councillors that the temporary reinstatement of the road surface will be let ‘settle’ for several months before a permanent surface is put on the road.

Councillors paid tribute to the county council staff and emergency services who responded quickly to last Friday’s incident.
Cllr Cullen, thanked the council staff, An Garda Siochána, the fire service and Uisce Eireann, many of whom were on-site immediately and worked through the night to restore the town’s water supply and ensure it was ‘open for the bank holiday weekend.’