Home safety · Ireland

Government Warns Every Home in Ireland: Be Ready to Lose Power, Phones and Internet — An Emergency Booklet Is Already in the Post

The booklet's advice for when the power goes? "Listen to local radio." Does your home have one that works with no power at all?

By the Sentinelle PRO team · October 2026 · 6-minute read

On 28 August 2026, the government launched "Be Emergency Ready" — a national campaign posting an emergency booklet to every household in Ireland.¹ The booklet warns that in an emergency, "power, water, communications or transport may be disrupted".² Launching it, the Minister for Defence said: "A small amount of preparation today can make a significant difference tomorrow."¹

The most frightening thing about a long power cut isn't the dark. It's the silence that comes after it.

Your phone, your Wi-Fi and your landline all run on electricity. When the power goes, they go with it. And the government's booklet is blunt: plan for situations where "phones, internet or electricity are not available".² When that happens, your family is cut off.

Here's what the government is asking for. And what prepared families are already doing about it.

(Based on the Government of Ireland's "Be Emergency Ready" campaign, launched 28 August 2026 — gov.ie.)

Keep Your Family Protected → The dependency nobody mentions

When the Power Goes, Your Phone Goes Silent — Within Hours

Most people think their phone will keep them connected in a power cut. It won't.

The lights go out at ten past six. Then the Wi-Fi drops. Then, one by one, the bars disappear. You try your mum. Nothing.

Here's how fast it falls apart:

• The first secondYour router dies. Your cordless home phone dies with it — it runs on the mains too.
• The first hourYour mobile needs a mast, and the mast needs electricity. Ireland's telecoms industry says it plainly: "telecoms masts cease to function if power is unavailable."³
• After thatNo calls. No texts. No news. At the peak of Storm Éowyn, 34.9% of mobile customers were affected³ — the biggest hit to Irish telecoms in ComReg's recorded history.⁴
• A week laterAfter Storm Éowyn, 39,000 homes and businesses were still without power — a full week after it hit.⁵

No signal. No news. No way to call for help. Just your family and the dark.

The maths every family gets wrong

Your Phone Battery Is a Countdown

You think a phone and a power bank have you covered. Do the maths.

A charged power bank only stays charged until you use it. Spare batteries run flat. And in a long power cut, there's no socket to refill anything.

This isn't a doomsday scenario. It has already happened here.

During Storm Éowyn, more than 768,000 homes, farms and businesses lost power — with gusts of 114 mph, the strongest ever recorded in Ireland.^{5, 8}

None of these was an attack. That was just weather.

Stored power isn't a plan. It's a countdown.

What the government is asking for

Stop Storing Power. Start Making It.

The government's Be Emergency Ready booklet asks every household to:²

Most homes have a torch somewhere. Many have a power bank. But how many have a radio that works with no mains and no spare batteries?

That's the one that decides everything. As Storm Éowyn approached, the body representing Ireland's independent radio stations warned that "mobile phone network sites, or indeed mobile phone handsets themselves, can be affected by power cuts" — and that "radio is a vital source of information".⁹

So prepared families have made one simple change. They've stopped asking "how much power can I store?" — because every battery runs down. They've started asking "how do I make my own, for as long as this lasts?"

Here's how they're doing it.

Don't Be Left in the Dark →

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The device prepared families trust

Sentinelle PRO: Torch, Radio and Power Bank — and It Makes Its Own Power

Sentinelle PRO covers all three items on the government's list in one smartphone-sized device — and unlike a power bank or a battery radio, it doesn't have to stay flat. It recharges from daylight or your own two hands.

1. Makes its own powerSolar panel by day, hand crank by night. Five minutes of cranking gives almost two full phone charges.*
2. Keeps your phone aliveBuilt-in 2,000 mAh power bank — so your phone is ready the moment there's a signal.
3. Tells you what's happeningAM/FM radio — RTÉ Radio 1 and your local station, with no Wi-Fi, no signal and no mains.
4. Lights the darkBuilt-in LED torch. No candles. No hunting for batteries.
5. Calls attentionSOS alarm.

230 g. It waits in a drawer until the night everything else stops working.

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✓ Works without mains power✓ Torch + radio + power bank✓ 120,000+ sold†✓ ★ 4.8/5

Built for Irish Homes. Trusted by Those Who Prepare for a Living.

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One outage can leave your whole family cut off. Sentinelle PRO keeps you informed, lit and reachable — with no mains, no signal and no spare batteries.

One for your home. One for Mum and Dad. Picture your parents on the first night of a long power cut — alone, in the cold, in the dark, with a phone that can't reach you. Don't let that be them.

Protect Your Family Before It Happens →

Winter is coming — and once the power goes, it's too late to order. When Spain's grid went down, small shops sold out of portable radios.¹⁰

Frequently Asked Questions

I already have a phone and a power bank. Isn't that enough?

Both run out — and in a power cut you can't recharge either. Sentinelle PRO recharges from daylight or the hand crank, again and again, and adds the radio and torch the government's list asks for.

It won't happen here.

Storm Éowyn cut power to more than 768,000 homes, farms and businesses — ordinary places like yours.⁵ And the government isn't asking only people in storm areas to prepare — it's sending its booklet to every home.¹

Is it worth €59.90?

It's three items from the government's checklist in one device, and it never needs spare batteries. Try it for 30 days — if it's not for you, send it back for a full refund.

Does it get DAB?

No — and we won't pretend otherwise. It receives AM and FM, where you'll find RTÉ Radio 1 and your local station. The government's booklet asks for "a battery, wind-up or solar radio" — Sentinelle PRO is wind-up and solar.²

How do I charge it?

Three ways: by cable from the mains, from daylight through the solar panel, or with the hand crank. Five minutes of cranking gives almost two full phone charges.*

Is it hard to use?

No. A dial for the radio, a switch for the torch, a handle to crank. If your parents can use a kettle, they can use this.

What if I don't like it?

Send it back within 30 days for a full refund. This is in addition to your statutory rights, including your right to cancel within 14 days of delivery.

Ready to get prepared?

The Government Has Told You. Now It's Up to You.

You've seen the announcement. You've read the checklist. The families who come through those first days safely will be the ones who got ready before the lights went out — not after.

Tick all three items on the government's list today. With one device.

Get Sentinelle PRO Before It's Too Late →

✓ Free delivery in Ireland✓ 30-day money-back guarantee✓ From €49.30 each