Wheely dangerous Drivers urged take care after eight-car pileup in Meath and snow and high winds leave hundreds without power

Drivers have been urged to take extra care on the roads this weekend after icy conditions were blamed for a series of crashes and at least one pile up this morning. 

Dangerous conditions saw vehicles leave the road in several areas while there was a reported eight car pile-up on the M3 between Junction 6 and 7, in the Navan-bound direction.

AA Roadwatch said the M3 was closed earlier today as a result of treacherous conditions and multiple collisions.

“Hazardous road conditions this morning in many parts of the country, with a large number of collisions reported on motorways so far,” they tweeted.

Poor driving conditions were also reported on the M1 between Dundalk and Drogheda.

A number of cars have left the motorway, including several vehicles around Junction 14, the Ardee exit.

A car also left the road in the Termonfeckin area.

There were four minor collisions on the M9 motorway this morning and while there were no injuries in any of the incidents, Thomastown Gardaí are warning that the route, both north and south bound, is still “treacherous”.

They’re asking all drivers to only make essential journeys and to slow down on the motorway in particular.

There have also been power cuts across the country in the wake of some heavy snow falls and high winds.

It comes as a Met Éireann warning for snow and ice remained in place across all of Leinster, Connacht, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal until midday.

Meanwhile, ESB Networks are battling to restore power to homes and businesses affect by outages as the result of stormy conditions last night.

“We have a number of faults around the country this morning following stormy conditions,” they tweeted. “We have a large fault in Greenore, Carlingford and surrounding areas of Co Louth. We are working to repair as quickly as possible.”

There were large faults reported in the Enniscrone and surrounding areas of Sligo and the Grange, Belmont and Carlingford areas of Louth.

There were also faults reported in Kilcurry and surrounding areas of Co Dundalk.

“We are working to repair as quickly as possible", an ESB spokesperson revealed. “Apologies for the inconvenience.”

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Online Editors