Looks Like Rain

by Damian Corless

The name the Romans gave to Ireland was Hibernia, which means ‘Land of Winter’, and cold feet may have been a factor in their decision to leave the Irish to their own devices. The weather is our main topic of conversation and has done its bit in shaping our character. This lively overview shines a light on incidents when the weather – generally bad – changed the course of Ireland’s history. Along the way it takes in those years – and there were quite a few – when the sun really didn’t shine. We learn how Oliver Cromwell, invincible in war, most likely caught his death from a Cork mosquito. The Irish climate created the heavy soil that made the potato flourish in Ireland like nowhere else, with disastrous consequences. David Lean came to Ireland fully intending to give the County Kerry weather a starring role in his film Ryan’s Daughter. He didn’t make another film for fourteen years. Our professional forecasters still hedge their bets by predicting four seasons in one day – and still often get it laughably wrong. But there are sunny stories too, such as how, in 1973, the brooding Antrim weather produced one of rock music’s greatest album covers, and how the Irish legend of the crock of gold at the rainbow’s end came about. Remarkably, Ireland’s weather has remained the same moderate mixed blessing since the Romans left.

Genres: History

227 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 9, 2013

Reviews

[Gillian Hennessy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have to be honest here and say that I work for The Collins Press and we published this book so of course I'm going to love it! But seriously, this is a really enjoyable look at what the Irish spend the vast majority of their time wondering about - the weather. There are some great stories in there about how the weather changed the course of history (a weather report from Mayo delayed the D-Day landings by a day, thereby ensuring success and Oliver Cromwell was laid low after contracting malaria from a mosquito bit in Cork!). Worth dipping into on a rainy day :)

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Well worth a read if you like bite sized facts and figures about your national science and history.

I intended to keep it as a "dip in" book I could have while reading a novel, but it was so interesting and the chapters were so compact I couldn't stop myself reading it any chance I got. Great fun!