ESB crews have restored power to thousands of homes after a powerful storm hit the country.

Wind speeds of 130km/h were recorded at Malin Head at 10am today as an Atlantic depression brought high winds to the north and east of Ireland.

More than 7,000 homes were left without electricity for a period in Northern Ireland, and several thousand homes in the Republic were also affected, with Co Donegal suffering most.

The storm knocked out power supplies to 1,400 homes around Letterkenny, 1,100 in the Trim area and and 800 in Devlin, Co Westmeath. Homes in and around Ballybofey, Moville, Buncrana, Milford and Carndonagh in Co Donegal were also without electricity for a time.

An ESB spokesman said power had been restored to all homes by this evening.

In Carndonagh, a 17 metre Christmas tree was split in two when it fell down in the wind. Donegal County Council confirmed it responded to 24 emergency calls by sending out response crews.

In Sligo town there was flooding in a number of areas, including Sea Road and Rosses Point. Sligo County Council carried out emergency work to deal with it.

South of Dublin, the northbound N11 was closed for a time at the Glen of the Downs because of an overhanging tree. Debris was scattered on the M9 Dublin/ Waterford road between J4 Castledermot and J5 Carlow and motorists were urged to take care.

Met Eireann forecaster Gerry Murphy said the storm was a “blip” in what has so far been a “quiet” December on the weather front. “Often these storms come around a time of unsettled weather, but in this case, the weather preceeding it was quiet and the weather after it will be quiet too.”

Irish Ferries cancelled some sailings, but Dublin Airport reported no disruption to flights either in or out .

In Co Louth, three generations of a family had to leave their home after a large tree crashed down on to the front of their bungalow in Kilcurry. Firefighters from Dundalk confirmed they removed an elderly woman and made the house secure. The 81-year-old woman lived there with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren. Her daughter, who did not want to be named, said that the family may not be able to return to the house before Christmas.

The fire service worked for more than 6 hours to remove the tree. It broke windows at the front of the bungalow and also damaged the roof.

In Co Meath a motorist received facial injuries when part of a large sign was broken up by the wind, causing a piece of hoarding to smash through the windscreen of his car. The accident happened on the N2 near Ashbourne.

In Co Cavan, the fire service removed trees from eight roads between 10am and 2pm today.