"Molluscs and Met Éireann in the firing line as residents suffer effects of Storm Chandra"
"Thank God for the humble mussel."
"Last week, Coalition politicians were deeply grateful to a voiceless scapegoat for the flooding in Enniscorthy. Crash courses in the history of the freshwater pearl mussel were being contemplated by ministers and top civil servants. They may have found it difficult to get their heads around the pronunciation of its technical name - the tongue-twisting Margaritifera margaritifera - but were soon to become masters of the joys of the bivalve mollusc found in clean, fast-flowing rivers and in Ireland's lakes."
Storm Chandra caused flooding and other disruptive effects that impacted residents. Molluscs and Met Éireann came under public and political scrutiny over responses to the storm. Coalition politicians blamed the freshwater pearl mussel as a voiceless scapegoat for flooding in Enniscorthy. Ministers and top civil servants considered crash courses in the mussel's history and ecology. The freshwater pearl mussel's technical name, Margaritifera margaritifera, presented pronunciation challenges. The mussel is a bivalve mollusc that inhabits clean, fast-flowing rivers and Ireland's lakes, indicating environmental conditions rather than causing storm-related flooding.
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