The dark and deathly Night of the Big Wind

It was a storm that impacted on the memory and one that is still referred to today; The Night of the Big Wind. The Night of the Big Wind arrived without any warning, on a very large, exceedingly vulnerable and totally unprepared population. It took place in the early days of 1839 and on that night, throughout the Ox Mountain region, the destruction that was visited upon an unsuspecting population became the stuff of legend.

The Night of the Big Wind (Irish: Oíche na Gaoithe Móire) was a powerful windstorm that swept across Ireland, beginning on the afternoon of January 6, 1839, causing severe damage to property and several hundred deaths. The storm tracked eastwards to the north of Ireland, with gusts of over 115mph. At the time, it was the worst storm to hit Ireland for 300 years.

The storm developed after a period of unusual weather. Heavy snow had fallen across the country on the night of January 5, which was replaced the following morning by a warm front. This front brought a period of complete calm with heavy, motionless, cloud cover. Through the day, temperatures rose to well above their seasonal average, resulting in rapid melting of the snow.

Later that day, a deep Atlantic depression began to move towards Ireland, forming a cold front. First reports of stormy weather came from County Mayo. Subsequently, the storm moved slowly across the country through the afternoon, gathering strength as it moved. By midnight the winds had reached hurricane force.

Turtle Bunbury, writing about the fateful night in the Irish Times in 2017, said that the hurricane of January 1839 made more people homeless in a single night than all the sorry decades of eviction that followed it. Bunbury’s article picks up the story in a lyrical style that creates perfectly the feeling of impending doom.

At approximately 3pm, the rain began to fall and the wind picked up. Nobody could possibly have predicted that those first soft raindrops signified an advance assault from the most terrifying hurricane in human memory. By 6pm, the winds had become strong and the raindrops were heavier, sleet-like, with occasional bursts of hail. Farmers grimaced as their hay-ricks and thatched roofs took a pounding. In the towns and villages, fires flickered and doors slammed. Church bells chimed and dogs began to whine. Fishermen turned their ears west; a distant, increasingly loud rumble could be heard upon the frothy horizon.

By 10pm, Ireland was in the throes of a ferocious cyclone that would continue unabated until 6am. The hurricane had roared across 3,000 miles of unbroken, island-free Atlantic Ocean, gathering momentum every second. It hit Ireland’s west coast with such power that the waves actually broke over the top of the Cliffs of Moher.

Stories and folklore 

Knocknashee, the Hill of the Faries, which sits quite close to where I live in south Sligo, is reputed to have been constantly inhabited since 3,000 BC. The Night of the Big Wind signalled the departure of the last people who lived on its high plateau. While these people where likely to have been landlord’s herds, the lofty location must indeed have been their home as why else would they be up there in the depths of winter?

A local contribution to the National Schools Folklore Collection gives an idea of the type of stories that were told in the years that followed. The following contribution, by the headmaster Sean O’Blioscáin at Cloonacool National School, is one such tale.

The big wind seems to have made a more lasting impression here than the famine. At any rate it was used much more frequently as a point to date from. One often heard people speak of events as happening so many years after this night of the big wind but rarely heard the famine years so recalled.

The only one who seems to have any account of local happenings was Patrick Mullarkey whose grandfather told him of an incident that occurred in his native village. He lived in the townland of Sessue, where there was a cluster of houses on the mountain side. The owner of one of these had been looking after his thatch during the Christmas time – a rather unusual performance at the time. When the great wind came it did great damage to all the neighbouring houses. Chimneys were swept off some, others had roofs partially destroyed and the only one left intact was that of the man who had been working while the others were idle.

In the morning the men stood in groups discussing the damage done. The wind had gone down somewhat; it still blew in strong gusts but there were increasing intervals of comparative quietness. The owner of the only safe house in the townland was loud in praise of his foresight, "A fheara" ar seisean, "ní hé oidhche na gaoithe oidhche na scollop." (“Men" he said, "the night of the wind is not the night of the scallop.”).

Hardly had he finished the proverb when the wind that had seemed to be wearing out appeared to gather all its strength for one final effort and a tremendous blow, the hardest that had come for hours, threw the men off their feet and swept off the boaster’s house, not merely the thatch but all the timber leaving nothing standing except the side-wall and gables.

Compare and contrast 

The recent devastation caused by Storm Darragh, while considerable, seems to pale into insignificance compared to the Night of the Big Wind. Nonetheless, comparisons with other storms are interesting. For example, that storm of 1839 had estimated peak winds speeds of 115mph, Debbie, in September 1961, had wind speeds of only 90mph but Ophelie, in 2017, surpassed all records with top wind speeds of 118mph. Storm Darragh only reached 80mph wind speeds at its height.

Any comparisons, however, should be set against an awareness of living conditions in Ireland in the early 1800s. In 1839, Ireland’s population had peaked at just over eight million. For the most part, this was a peasant population living in poor-quality, vulnerable housing. Because of this, severe property damage was widespread due to the storm, particularly in Connacht. This was pre electricity and it is likely that every lamp, every candle and every fire in the country was extinguished by the gale. Such powerful forces of nature, being experienced in total darkness, terrorised a nation.

It was estimated that between 250 and 300 people lost their lives in the 1839 storm. In contrast, Storm Darragh did not result in a single death here in Ireland and there was relatively little damage caused to buildings and infrastructure. If for no other reason, the Night of the Big Wind can still be used as a benchmark to show how our little country has strengthened and improved itself over the past 185 years. It seems we can now stand firm in the face of any storm that nature decides to send our way… and such storms fade quickly from memory.