AMID SEEMINGLY NEVER-ENDING rain, Dublin city centre shops say there’s been an uptick in sales for everything from umbrellas to portable gas stoves as people seek protection from the weather and to backup equipment for their homes in the event of power cuts.  

Several shops around the north of the city centre reported a trend of drenched tourists running in looking for umbrellas, as The Journal stopped by in mid-morning. 

At Army Bargains, a landmark camping supplies shop on Mary Street, the manager said they had sold “a good few umbrellas”.

“We’ve two hotels up the road, so people run in to buy umbrellas – especially tourists who aren’t as prepared for the storm.”

Over on Liffey Street, the Outdoor Adventure Store had also observed foot traffic from “a lot of tourists” looking raingear.

Groups often land in the door suddenly, a manager said, “not expecting the sudden change in weather”.

Shops in the Capel Street area also told The Journal they had observed the drenched tourists phenomenon. 

Baskets of brollies are placed right at the door of shops around the city Kate Henshaw / The Journal Kate Henshaw / The Journal / The Journal

Home supplies  

People have also been stocking up on supplies and equipment for the house.

Shop staff around the city said they had been fielding questions from worried customers looking for ways to protect themselves and their homes in the bad weather. 

Army Bargains said they’ve seen an uptick in sales of gas stoves and single-use items like disposable plates, with homeowners preparing for potential power outages. They’ve also been doing a roaring trade in candles. 

At Lenehan’s – a mid-size hardware store on Capel Street – they’ve been helping customers with tools and supplies to fix broken pipes and other items damaged in the recent flooding week’s flooding.

A common theme across the businesses we spoke to was an observation that these weather events are getting more frequent and more severe.

One manager compared the recent bad weather to Storm Eowyn last year. Though they “had a huge amount of sales after that for repairs” this year the trade is more sustained.

“We seem to be getting a string of storms” they said, noting that the weather was becoming “more relentless”. 

An analysis by Maynooth University and Met Éireann found that flooding like last week’s is now almost three times more likely to occur, due to climate change.