Walk down an Irish Lane

By Terry Reilly

With Christmas just behind us, and hopefully also the end of the cold snap that had the country in its icy grip over the New Year period when temperatures fell to minus 10 degrees Celsius, our thoughts turn to Spring, lengthening sun-lit days and a good old rummage in the garden as we prepare for another season of good intentions.

 But just not yet! Older people have been getting great mileage from recounting their experiences in the Great Snow of 1947: the country, or large swathes of it, were buried feet deep under white powdery stuff for weeks on end, and volunteer groups had to go out and clear roads so that supplies could be delivered to isolated villages. In some areas, only the tops of the telegraph poles were visible.