"I left Dundrum at 6.20pm and didn't get home until nine o'clock that evening. I didn't realise it then, but I was one of the lucky ones, mainly because I managed to get off the M50 at Leopardstown racecourse and saved myself an hour. I still had to get back on the M50 though, and it was absolute chaos.

"No radio reports indicated exactly what was going on and AA Roadwatch was a disgrace. This could have been their chance to step up and give a good service, but they were a disaster.

"If I'd known how bad it was going to be, I would have stayed in town and waited for a few hours. As it was, by the time we knew what was going on, we were stuck right in the middle of the traffic jam and there was no escape.

"There was no sign of any gardai at all. They should have been diverting people away from the M50. I saw a lot of cars abandoned on the hard shoulder, where people had obviously run out of petrol. It was just a joke."