An official sod turning ceremony has taken place in Crossmolina, Co Mayo to mark the construction phase of a flood relief scheme for the town.
The €34 million project aims to "future proof" an area which has been devastated by floods for decades.
In 2006, flood waters wreaked havoc on this vulnerable north Mayo town with dozens of homes and businesses destroyed.
It was not the first extreme flood event to happen and this devastating scenario was repeated again in 2015. On that occasion 120 properties were inundated with water.
Daragh Quinn, a pharmacist in the town, said around €200,000 in medicines was lost during the floods in 2015.
"Our pharmacy was utterly destroyed," he said.
"Water came powering down the River Deel and across over the bridge and up the street and washed straight into our pharmacy. We had homemade barricades but they couldn't withstand the force of the floods.
"As well as the destruction to the building we lost about €200,000 in medicines."
Mr Quinn said today was a "new dawn" for Crossmolina and he said he was confident that the new flood alleviation measures would work when up and running.
There have been ongoing calls for flood alleviation measures in Crossmolina for years.
Finally, after delays in design and environmental challenges, the town has got the green light and construction work is getting under way.
The scheme will afford protection from significant flood events to 73 residential and 43 business properties in the town.
Minister of State for the OPW with Special Responsibility for Flood Relief Kevin 'Boxer' Moran, said it will take around four years for the project to be completed.
"This development will be a significant boost to residents and businesses in Crossmolina who have suffered serious flooding in the past," he said.
"The scheme is being built directly by the OPW and will take approximately four years to build. This investment is part of the Government's strategy under Project Ireland 2040 to make Ireland a better country for all and to build a more resilient and sustainable future.
"Every seven minutes there'll be a lorry leaving this site, so that will give you an idea of the depth of the challenges here to get this project completed and ease the awful pressure on people in years to come."
Ministers Dara Calleary and Alan Dillon said the River Deel Relief Scheme was a critical infrastructure project providing much needed protection against flooding and ensuring the safety and well-being of the local community.
They said the initiative would also foster economic growth and improve the quality of life for the people of Crossmolina.
The Crossmolina scheme is part of the Government's €94m investment in flood relief measures across Co Mayo.
Ballina is the next big investment with €55m of funding earmarked for the town.
There will be some 300 properties afforded protection from the Ballina scheme which has been approved by the OPW and is at the planning stages.
Jim Casey, Head of Flood Relief Management at the OPW, says that the project marks a significant step in flood management.
"The project includes a one kilometre grass-lined diversion channel with an excavation depth of over ten metres, and is designed to divert floodwaters away from the town during high water levels and directly into the flood plains of Lough Conn," he said.
"Additionally, the scheme involves constructing control structures and two new bridges."
Crossmolina resident Enda Hiney owns a hotel, shop and pub in the town. He said that everything was destroyed in 2015.
"1989 was very bad but we never saw anything like 2015. We had about four feet of water.
"It's hard to believe but such was the force of the water that even the ovens in our kitchen moved from one side of the premises to the other. Ovens that would take four men to lift."
The businessman welcomed the start of the new construction project but is concerned about the more extreme weather events in the coming years before it is completed.
"We used to have flood insurance but now we've nothing so we've no backup.
"I mean I'm delighted, absolutely delighted It's going ahead. And hopefully this new diversion channel will work. We have to put our faith in the experts that are there, that are doing it. They seem to know what they're doing but it's going to take another four years," Mr Hiney said.
"So we've four winters to get through before that. So we're living on a knife edge all through that, and there's nothing we can do about it."
The Crossmolina scheme has been funded through the Government's 2030 National Development Plan with €1.3 billion allocated for flood relief measures and future-proofed, adaptable flood relief schemes.
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