More than 250,000 homes and businesses are without power as hurricane force winds continue to batter the country. People are being urged to stay indoors as "Storm Darwin" causes buildings to collapse, trucks to overturn and widespread chaos to the transport network.
And the status red weather alert has now been extended after Met Eireann upgraded its weather warning for Leinster from orange.
In Kilkenny the major emergency plan for the county has been activated with gardai appealing to people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel where possible.
Road users in other counties are being warned of hazardous driving conditions with trees down on many routes while the Coast Guard is urging people to keep away from exposed coastal areas, such as piers and cliffs.
Eircom says at least 11,500 customers are currently without service in the south, south-west and west of the country.
The company says it expects the number of faults to rise significantly and Eircom says services are unlikely to be restored this evening.
Hurricane-force winds continue to batter the southern half of the country. A number of warnings have been issued to people to avoid unnecessary travel, particularly in Counties Cork and Kerry.
At sea, the winds have gusted to over 170 kilometres per hour. Overland they have exceeded 140 kilometres per hour causing widespread damage and cutting power across large parts of Munster.
Both Cork and Shannon Airports were closed for a time earlier. While at Shannon, a stationary aircraft was tipped onto its wing by a gust.
At one point, University College Cork (UCC) warned its students not to leave lecture halls because of flying debris. Part of the roof of the Brandon Hotel in Tralee was also blown onto the street but no-one was hurt.
Meanwhile An Post says mail delivery and collection have been severely affected in Kerry, Limerick (city & county), Ennis and Kilrush.
It says service is disrupted at a large number of Post Offices across counties Kerry, Limerick and Clare due to power outages.
It is warning that as the storm moves across the country, retail and mails services in other areas may also be affected.
This aircraft at Shannon Airport was tipped over by the winds
Travel chaos
RAIL:
The stormy weather is also causing chaos for the transport network around the country.
Dublin Airport is also warning that the stormy weather may impact the flight schedule this evening.
P&O Ferries has been forced to cancel its 9pm sailing between Liverpool and Dublin tonight, while the 9am service tomorrow morning between Dublin and Liverpool has also been cancelled.
Passengers will be accommodated on the available sailings.
Irish Rail says DART services are back running with some minor delays.
No services are leaving Heuston Station for Kerry, Cork and Limerick, while services are suspended through Carlow due to fallen trees.
The line also remains closed between Limerick and Athenry, and Iarnród Éireann advises that only essential journeys are to be made as major delays are expected.
And customers travelling between Heuston and Cork/Kerry and Limerick are to expect severe disruption.
ROADS:
Motorists are advised to take extreme care and gardai are appealing to motorists particularly in Counties Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Kildare and Wicklow.
CORK/TIPPERARY: The M8 Cork/ Dublin Road is closed both ways at Junction 15 Fermoy South as emergency services deal with an overturned truck. Diversions are in place. The M8 is also closed both ways at Junction 9 Cashel South because of two overturned trucks either side of the motorway.
CORK: There are approximately 16 kilometre tailbacks on N20 Cork/Limerick Road into Mallow from Buttevantafter a truck has jack-knifed. A number of trees are also blocking the N20 Cork/Mallow Road on the other side between Rathduff and Mallow.
Trees have been cleared on the N71 Skibbereen/Cork Road just before Rosscarbery. Fallen trees are still in place further east between Bandon and Ballinhassig and on towards Cork city.
While in Cork city, the South City Link Road is blocked between the Kinsale Road roundabout and the city centre due to fallen trees.
KERRY: Motorists are advised to avoid the Dingle Peninsula as there is a lot of debris flying around, including reports of shed roofs.
The N86 Tralee /Dingle Road between Gleann na Gealt and Camp Village is closed while work on removing an overturned truck at Gleann na Gealt continues.
LIMERICK: Several roads in Limerick are blocked or partially blocked due to trees down. See the AA Roadwatch website for updates
GALWAY: The N18 Galway/Limerick Road is blocked both ways at Kiltartan due to an overturned truck.
WATERFORD CITY: The Passage Road is closed from the entrance to Summerville Avenue due to a fallen tree and telegraph pole on Grange Park Road.
WATERFORD: The N25 Cork/Waterford Road is blocked between Kilmeadan and Carrols Cross due to a large fallen tree.
TIPPERARY: Gardai are advising motorists not to make unnecessary journeys in Tipperary; there are over 40 roads blocked due to fallen trees and fallen ESB lines. See the AA Roadwatch website for updates
See photos & video of the damage here
