Caroline Blake, 53, said she felt like she had a ‘bad hangover’ after being struck by lightning while in her kitchen in Crinkle, near Birr in Co Offaly, on Tuesday, June 13.
"As I was putting the spoon down into the sink, like sparks came out of it, there was a massive explosion in the kitchen and the smell of burning," Blake told RTÉ News on June 14.
It's believed that lightning struck a tap on the outside of Blake's house.
"The bang was so loud. It set me back a bit on my feet and I became a bit disorientated and didn't know what was happening," Blake said.
"I could hear the buzzing of electricity and next thing it hit my hand as I was putting the spoon back down into the sink. It stopped after a few seconds, but it just seemed to go on forever.
"It's so hard to explain how quickly it happened and how quickly it ended."
Blake likened the sensation to putting your hand on an electric fence.
"It moved me back a bit off my feet," she said, "but I was grand."
Blake's daughter arrived at the house soon after and noticed that her mother was disoriented and that her face and hands were red. The two went to their local GP before being sent to Tullamore Hospital.
She separately told the Irish Mirror: “The doctor told me ‘I had never dealt with a case of lightning before’ and I said ‘I never dealt with it either!’ And we laughed.”
"They kept me in for a few hours and everything was OK and they gave me a few tablets," Blake said, telling RTÉ News she had a "bad headache" afterward and what felt like a hangover.
Blake said doctors credited the rubber soles of her shoes with saving her.
She told the Irish Mirror that she'll "think of things differently now," while several people have encouraged her to play the lottery.
After the incident, Blake's daughter shared the experience with Kildare Weather, saying that her mother is "lucky to be alive."
The incident on Tuesday took place during a Status Yellow thunderstorm warning from Met Éireann, which has forecast more thunderstorms through the weekend.
Back in 2018, a family in Co Cork made a lucky escape after their house was struck by lightning.
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