Ireland, Northern Ireland battered by record winds from Storm Eowyn

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Record high winds from Storm Eowyn battered Ireland and Northern Ireland on Friday, leaving 560,000 homes and businesses without power and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closure of schools and public transport.

Officials had warned the storm was set to be one of the most dangerous they have faced and told people to stay indoors. The Irish weather agency, Met Eireann, said a gust of 182 kilometres per hour overnight at Mace Head in County Galway provisionally broke an 80-year record.

ESB Networks, which provides energy for the whole of Ireland, said "unprecedented" damage to its network had led to power outages affecting 560,000 homes, farms and businesses. It expected significant outages as the storm tracks northwards.

The power company said ahead of the storm that it could take up to nine days to restore power for some customers.

More than 110 scheduled departures and 110 arrivals at Dublin airport were cancelled, the airport said, adding that further cancellations and delays were possible.

All schools in Ireland and Northern Ireland were closed on Friday and public transport will not run in Ireland while a red wind warning remains in place.

The red warning - the highest alert level - was in place for the entire country for the first time since Storm Ophelia in 2017, which killed three people.

It is due to be lifted for most of Ireland at 1100 GMT and in British-ruled Northern Ireland at 1400.

A red warning is also in place for southwestern and central areas of Scotland from 1000 until 1700, the UK Met Office said, warning people to expect flying debris resulting in danger to life, damage to buildings with roofs blown off and the closure of roads and bridges.

Dozens of flights from airports at Edinburgh and Glasgow were cancelled, and National Rail advised people living across Scotland and parts of northern England not to travel on Friday.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin, additional reporting by Sarah Young in London; Editing by Gareth Jones)