The Irish standard., 1903-04-04
BIG WINDS COMPARED. n
The Storm in Ireland of 1889 Con-
trasted With that of 1903.

from the pen OF Il. y. Russell, APP
peared in the last issue of the Dublin
Weekly Freeman. In Il highly enter
tanning manner the big wind storms Of
1889 and 1903 are contrasteu. The
writer says:
1t seems certain that Tie storm Of
Thursday night, February 26, of this
year was the greatest that Ireland has
experienced SINCE the memorable Big
Wind" Of January 9th, 1889. Both
storms will be long remembered; but
so far us my memory serves me, the
storm OF last week WAS hardly any
more than a gale compared with the
great blow of 1889. Although only Il
small boy the night of the Big Wind"
my memory of that awful storm is as
distinct as if it had happened only
last year. Never did two great gales
of wind act" more differently than
those of 1899 and 1903; and even the
weather OF the days previous to both
storms was quite different. Everyone
may remember that Thursday, Feb
ruary 2G, was what is very expressive
ly called Il clustering day." The day
Of the night Of the great storm of 1889
was quite different. 1t fell OH Sun
day. There We're few inches of
SNOW where | was then, in the County
Westmeath; but Notwithstanding the
SNOW the day was not cold, and there
was not even IL breath of wind. But
there was something awful in the dark
stiffness of that winter day, for there
was no sunlight coming through the
thick, motionleSs clouds that hung
over the earth. There was complete
absence of wind up to ten o'clock OH
the night of the Big Wind.' 1t then
began to blow Il little, but grew
stronger and stronger every minute,
and was at it's height about midnight.
In the storm of the other week the
wind came in gusts, sometimes there
would be a calm for many seconds,
and then would come an awful burst
of tempteSr; but it was not so in the
great storm of 1880. The wind did
not come in gusts with pauSes between,
but was one steady blow for ten NOR
tai hours, or about ten O'Clock on the
night of the sixth of January until
eight next morning. The most terrible
thing | have ever since heard was the
roaring of the wind OH that awful
night. | can never forget it, nor can
anyone who heard it ever forget it. !
was too small a boy to go out with
my elder brothers to assist in saving
cattle and horses from tumbling-down
stables and outhouscs, and every one
Of them was lcvrllcu-so | don't know
how the wind sounded outside; but in
the house it was the most dreadful
thing l ever heard. ana it made the
stoutest and bravrsr that heard ii.
quail. Some idea of it may be gather
cd from the fact that when my bro
Tiers or any of the grown up people
i'll the house wanted to say anything
to one another. they had to embrace
and shout into each others ears in
order to he heard. The roar of the
wind, without lul or a pause,
drowned the human voice almost COM
pletely. The biggest battle that was
ever fought since gunpowdrr and can
mons came into use, might have been
waged a hundred yards to the Ice OF
our house and not a soul in it would
have heard Il single shot. This is no
eXaggcration. No one who did not
hear the horrible sound-Somcthing
between a howl ana q rOar-that tho
wind made on that night. can form,
even Il remote idea of it's unutterable
awfulness. 1t was hardly to lie Won
dercd at that almost every one thought
the end OF the world had come. Those
who had probably never felt real fear
in all their previous lives were like
babies, and wcpt like them; and as for
praying, although the Irish are mostly
a religious people, am satisfied that
there wis more pr'iying done iii Ire
land on the hight Of tic "liH Wind"
than has ever been done in it during
any week that has ever elapsed be-
fore or since,
srhe great storm of 1880 was felt all
over Ireland, and was severe in the
north of England; but it was only the
centre of Ireland that felt the full
force of the gale. 1t was compare
tiycly light i'm the extreme north and
extreme south OF the island. and is not
remembered so wildly. and does not
form such an epoch as it does in
those parts lying between Tyrone on
the north and Wexford on the south.
One of my brothers was in Youghal on
the night of the big Wind and he
often told me that the storm was not
anything extraordinary there, and
caused very little alarm. In the part
of the country where | was brought
up the big Wind formed, and
among the elderly people, still forms
an epoch from which Il great many
things were and are counted. "HoW
old were you at the time Of the "Bil
Wind?" do you remember the "Bit
Wind?" are questions which one oftel
hears asked even at present in TIN
central parts Of Ireland. Just as tn
IN from