A woman who was without power for 19 days after Storm Éowyn said it was like Christmas morning when power was restored on Monday evening.
Mary Meehan said it was a surprise when contractors for ESB Networks arrived outside her home in Co Galway, adding, "we knew then there was light at the end of the tunnel".
At the height of the storm on 24 January, more than 770,000 customers were left without power.
While thousands had their electricity restored in the hours after the storm passed, tens of thousands more waited days and weeks to get the power back.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Meehan, who lives with her husband and two adult children at Sylane East, near Dunmore, said the situation has been very difficult and the family's spirits were up and down all the time.
She said they were not very well informed about when power would be restored, adding, we were getting up every morning feeling positive but by evening we were "well deflated again",
"No one was informing you. You were going on to the ESB website or power check. But it was changing from one day to the other, as when the power would be restored ... so it was just up and down all the time."
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She said she did her cooking in a slow cooker in her work place and did laundry there and at her sister's house.
Ms Meehan said the evenings were the most difficult when the family had to cope without proper heat or light.
She said her son stayed in a B&B in Galway city for a few nights so he could attend online courses and do some study.
The family was able to borrow a generator after 15 days which helped a little, she said.
Mary criticised the Government's response to the storm, describing it as very poor, saying while she lived in a rural area, it is not a remote area.
"In 2025, we shouldn't be 19 days out of power. I think the Government should have employed or brought in extra crews or more manpower on the ground," she said.
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