FLYING FISH; Gertie's shock as her roof is hit by salmon.Byline: NIALL MOONAN A MOTHER and daughter got the shock of their lives when a SALMON smashed through their roof. The 5lb flying fish wrecked slates when it crashlanded on Gertie and Sarah Clarke's home. Care worker Gertie, 47, said yesterday: "I really got a fright. We heard this huge bang and then we saw the damage but didn't know what had caused it." A bird of prey bird of prey Any member of the order Falconiformes (eagles, falcons, hawks, and vultures) or Strigiformes (owls). Falconiforms are also called raptors. They are active during the day, whereas owls are nocturnal. is thought to have plucked the fish from the nearby River Moy The River Moy (Abhainn na Muaidhe in Irish) rises in the Ox Mountains in County Sligo in the northwest of Ireland. For the greater part of its length, the Moy flows southwestward, entering County Mayo and passing not far from Swinford before turning north near the village but was unable to hang on to its slippery catch. Gertie, from Ballina, Co Mayo, added: "My husband Frank came home at lunchtime and he went up to investigate the damage and was astonished a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. to find a salmon had caused it. "Frank covered up the roof temporarily. I'm not sure what it will cost to repair but I doubt the insurance company will pay." Gertie had been making a cup of tea for her and 17-year-old daughter Sarah in the family's two-storey house in Hill Street, Ballina, on Monday morning when she heard the almighty bang. She said: "My daughter was upstairs getting ready for work and we heard this crash through the roof, it was a loud bang and Sarah shouted that it was on the roof. "She came down and we went out the back to see this gaping hole in the slates which are fairly old. "We could see fragments splattered splat·ter v. splat·tered, splat·ter·ing, splat·ters v.tr. To spatter (something), especially to soil with splashes of liquid. v.intr. all over it and this thing sticking out Adj. 1. sticking out - extending out above or beyond a surface or boundary; "the jutting limb of a tree"; "massive projected buttresses"; "his protruding ribs"; "a pile of boards sticking over the end of his truck" over the hole. We thought it must have been a bird. "It would have to be a bird that carried it from the river which you can see from the house. "We're on a height, so this bird would have made it to a fair height for the salmon to cause so much damage. I really felt it was so extraordinary and it should have been recorded." The unlucky fish died on impact - its tail was the only intact part. Mother-of-two Gertie, who works in the town's Moyridge nursing home, said: "When we got out into the garden we didn't know at that stage what happened and we could see the pieces on the roof. "We knew something had been killed but never thought it would turn out to be a fish." And as for the fish - his remains were dished up as dinner for Gertie's neighbour's pet cat. CAPTION(S): STRANGE TAIL: Gertie with fish and smashed slate yesterday |
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