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Mayo
Alive
History/Genealogy Corner
23 April 1996
"The Night of the Big Wind" in Co Mayo
by
Gerard M Delaney
The Night of the Big Wind is now part of Irish mythology.
Obscure accounts, real and imaginary, of events that took
place on that famed night have been handed down through the
generations.
"The
Storm"
How troubled all
the woodland scene appear'd
And awful dark
the clouds of night had near'd
And high the wave
along the ocean swell'd
When suddenely
the troubled scene rebell'd
The window whistled
wild the lonely cry
And youth and age
sent forth their heaving sigh
Now murmuring loud
the chimney top began
And terror away'd
the guilty soul of man
Away on winds
the haggard store was swept
And trembling man
forsook his feet crept
The foaming billows
rag'd and roar'd aloud
And the Heavens seem
one black mass of cloud
The wood and groves
kept moaning all the time
Like prison's
being of some awful crime
Escaped some trees
while others met their doom
Prime of the forest
fell no more to bloom
The cottage roof
lays scatter'd over the vale
Destruction is
at best a sorry tale
Shattered,
the pretty ancient rustic mill
No more is seen
Its busy wheel lies still.
Forbear, Oh Lord
subdue each troubled blast
Withhold such awful storms as the past,
Shed down
congenial beams of sunny light,
To cheer the hearts
that mourn the stormy night.
THE STORM
On the evening of Saturday 5th January 1839 heavy snow
fell throughout Ireland. The morning was completely calm and
the sky was covered with motionless dense cloud. As the
morning progressed the temperature rose well above the
January average. The snow quickly melted. Unknown to all a
deep depression (estimated to have been 918 Millibars at its
minimum) was then forming in the north Atlantic. As the warm
front which covered the country gradually moved eastwards,
and rose in the atmosphere, it was replaced by a cold front
which brought with it high winds and heavy rain. The rain
commenced before noon in the west and spread very slowly
eastwards. In Mayo, the late afternoon turned chilly while
the east of the country still enjoyed the unseasonally high
temperatures experienced in Mayo earlier that day. At dusk,
wind speeds increased, conditions got colder and alternate
showers of rain and hail began to fall. By nine o'clock at
night the wind had reached gale force and continued to
increase. By midnight it had reached hurricane force and
remained at that level until five o'clock in the morning
when it reduced again to gale force. During the hurricane
the wind blew variously from the south-west, west and
north-west. Gales continued until six o'clock on Monday
evening. At nine o'clock on Monday morning air pressure was
at 972.6 Millibars and the temperature was then 4.4. Degrees
Celsius in Dublin.
THE DAMAGE
The storm damage in County Mayo was very considerable.
The following list of damage is based on items in the Mayo
newspapers of the day and accounts only for a smaller
percentage of the actual damage.
-
Castlebar
Few buildings escaped damage and the impoverished
tenaments of the poor were particularly badly effected in
Castlebar. Windows were smashed, doors burst open and
roofs were blown down. Slates, thatch, and roofing
timbers whirled through the streets. Half-dressed adults
and children, crazed with fear as their dwellings were
devastated, ran in panic through the streets amid flying
debris. At the height of the storm a fire broke out on
Staball Hill adding to the terror of the occasion. Mr.
St. Clair O'Malley and officers and men of the 87th
Constabulary Depot and the Revenue Police, through
vigorous efforts, managed to extinguish the fire after it
had devoured six houses. Almost every thatched house in
the town was stripped of its roof. Trees in the lawn of
the residence of Lord Lucan and on the Mall were felled
by the storm. As dawn broke the town was a scene of great
destruction. Even the well-built houses of the town's
elite had windows broken, roofs stripped and beams and
rafters smashed. The main streets were strewn with glass,
masonry and slates. The destruction was even worse in the
poorer suburbs. Many houses were completely unroofed.
Hundreds were left homeless.
Nobody was killed by the storm in Castlebar town but
the tragic story of the Mooney family who lived on the
outskirts of the town is worthy of mention. They lived in
a house on the roadside which was so damaged by the storm
that the parents and their five children were forced to
live under a hedge. The parents took fever and died
leaving five homeless orphans. Several people had close
escapes: Mr. Neal Davis was securing a window in his
house opposite the Church of Ireland church when he heard
the roof creek. He crushed himself into the window recess
seconds before the roof collapsed on the floor. A woman
named Tunney and her eight children had the roof of their
dwelling fall on top of them, then a wall fell down on
the collapsed rafters and thatch before they could free
themselves. Miraculously they escaped without serious
injury.
The well-built public buildings of the town suffered
considerable damage. The Constabulary Barracks in
particular was a complete wreck. One of the pinnacles of
the Church of Ireland steeple was blown down but
fortunately did not cause damage.
Crossmolina
A number of houses in Crossmolina were unroofed and
almost every house suffered some damage. Four houses were
completely destroyed.
Deel Castle
Extensive damage was caused to Deel Castle and the
surrounding plantation.
Lough Carra
Eight houses in the vicinity of Lough Carra were blown
down and destroyed.
Rehins
Mr. Henry Browne's new house at Rehins suffered
severely and four thousand trees in the vicinity were
torn up.
Rappa Castle
The Castle was damaged by the storm and trees in the
demesne were uprooted.
Ballybrooney
In Ballybrooney, near Crossmolina, houses were greatly
damaged and plantations were damaged.
Kilfian
Eight persons were killed by the falling of their
dwellings and a man named Moore and his wife were blown
away and drowned whilst crossing a ford in this
parish.
Greenhill
Two children were killed at Greenhill near Castlebar
when the houses in which they resided fell down on
them.
Kiltimagh
The Roman Catholic Church of Killedan Parish, located
in Kiltimagh town, was badly damaged. Four windows were
blown in and destroyed. A large portion of the roof on
the western side was blown off and the damage was
estimated at £100 - far beyond the means of its
impoverished parishioners.
Swinford
The mansion of Sir William J. Brabazon, then an M.P.
for Co. Mayo, at Brabazon Park, was partially unroofed
and several hundred trees in the vicinity were uprooted.
A fire, which broke out during the storm destroyed seven
cabins on the outskirts of the town. No lives were
lost.
Killala
Two vessels, the Earl of Caithness and Wellington, in
the harbour were completely wrecked. Were it not for the
exertions of Mr. Hughes, Mr. Philbin of Killala, Mathew
Madden, John Walsh, Anthony Madden and Martin Egan of
Killala, their crews would, to a man, have been lost. A
herring fishing boat with eight men was lost at sea. The
houses of their widows and children were left roofless by
the storm. The house and demesne of Killala Castle, the
seat of W. J. Burke Esq. suffered severely.
Carramore
Houses suffered from the storm and extensive damage
was done to plantations.
Westport
Scarcely a house in Westport town or neighbourhood
escaped uninjured from the storm. The house of Captain
Higgins was nearly unroofed. Mr. Patten had a large range
of glass in his garden destroyed. The hotel and barracks
also suffered much. Some fifteen hundred trees were
broken and torn up by their roots in the Marquis of
Sligo's demesne. The stabling and farmyard at Westport
House were much damaged.
Westport Quay
At Westport Quay the vessels Jean and Alice (Davis),
The Cantab (Wilson) Elizabeth and Cotter which were
moored at the Quay were driven to the lee side of the
river. The Robert Lovely (Bryce) also moored at the quay
was upset and left lying on her beams full of water. None
of the boats were seriously damaged.
Innishlyre
The Amity (Douglas), went ashore at Innislyre harbour
but escaped damage and the brig Antigua (Gibson) managed,
with great difficulty, to ride out the storm at
Innislyre. It was on route from Marseilles to Liverpool
via Westport.
Murrisk Abbey
The seat of J.C. Garvey Esq. at Murrisk Abbey suffered
also. Trees in the demesne were blown down, the haggard
was emptied and the corn stores were unroofed.
Trafalgar Park
C.F. Higgins of Trafalgar Park was a victim of the
storm also. The garden and stabling attached to his
residence were damaged but the house itself escaped
damage.
Summerville
The residence of Courtney Kenny Esq. at Summerville
was partially unroofed.
Rossbeg House
Part of the roof of Rossbeg house was unslated.
Binthroy
The body of a child was washed up together with
several sailors jackets and a boat.
RURAL DESTRUCTION
The local papers contain little specific information on
damage in the countryside but much of the damage caused can
be comprehended when the experiences of later, lesser,
storms in 1903 and 1961 are borne in mind. A large
proportion of the cabins which housed the subsistence level
tenant farmers and labourers were completely destroyed in
many cases leaving thousands homeless until new cabins were
constructed. Many received injuries which necessitated the
amputation of limbs. This often led to death. Exposure to
the elements led to illness among the frail, particularly
the young and elderly. Many lost their savings when the
roofs of their cabins blew off: the thatch was a favourite
hiding place for money, but few had the foresight to remove
it when the storm came. Tenant farmers were particularly
badly effected. In the countryside stacks of corn and hay
were blown completely from their haggards and were scattered
in the fields. That which was recovered had been drenched
causing it to subsequently rot, leaving farmers without
winter feed for their livestock. Boundary walls of dry stone
construction were blown down allowing animals to stray and
mix with other herds and flocks. High orchard walls on rural
estates fell in long sections. Sheep on mountains were blown
to their death and killed by loose stones tumbling down
hillsides. Hill farmers were depleted of their chief source
of income.
From the ecological point of view the storm was a disaster.
Millions of wild birds were killed causing the near
extinction of crows and jackdaws. Their traditional nesting
places were wiped out. When spring eventually came the
absence of song birds was noticeable. Historic ruins such as
Norman tower-houses and churches were badly destroyed never
to be restored. Tombstones in cemeteries were knocked over.
Roadways were rendered impassable by fallen trees thus
causing havoc to transport and mail deliveries for the
following week.
Sea water was carried inland by the force of the storm
and flooded houses when it poured down chimneys. The most
abiding memory of the night, and its aftermath, that
remained with people was the smell of salt which lingered in
houses for weeks. Seaweed too was carried inland for great
distances. Herrings and other fish were found miles from
shore.
The Ordnance Survey, completed in Co. Mayo in 1838,
showed the location of houses, cabins and out-offices
existing at that time. Many of these cabins and out-offices
were obliterated by the storm causing the maps to be quickly
outdated. The antiquarian John O'Donovan described the Big
Wind as if "..... the entire country had been swept clean by
some gigantic broom." "My Estate is now as bald as the palm
of my hand" was the complaint of a Mayo landlord who had
seventy-thousand trees felled by the storm on his lands.
FEAR
The overwhelming chaos and terror of the storm,
particularly the injury and destruction it brought, was long
remembered by those who experienced the event. A rumbling
noise, similar to thunder at a low volume, continued
throughout the storm but increased in volume as the gusts
increased. The storm extinguished lanterns and candles and
it was impossible to see what was actually happening, except
when streaks of lightning occasionally illuminated a
district or when the sky cleared and the aurora borealis
illuminated the northern sky in a mantle of red. People
huddled together in fear, barely able to hear each other
speak, as the houses around them rocked and creaked. Many
fearing that their houses would be blown down on top of them
crawled into the fields where they clung to bushes and
rushes. It was a frightful night for all but particularly
scary for those attending wakes or travelling. Events that
coincided with that famous night were remembered long after
they would otherwise be totally forgotten. For instance the
wake of John Cribbin of Lecarrow, Ballyhaunis, a man in his
nineties, was taking place when the storm rose. The thatched
roof of the house was partially removed in the course of the
storm. John Cribbin, probably born in the 1740s, does not
appear on any written record. His name would have been
long-since forgotten were it not for the historic night on
which he was waked.
FOLKLORE
There were people in every community who practiced
weather forecasting (with a degree of success) using such
factors as the lunar cycle, appearance of the sky and sea,
wind direction, the behaviour of birds, animals, fish and
insects and their own intuition. The concept of meteorology
was alien to the vast majority who experienced the Big Wind.
Amateur weather forecasters failed to predict the event.
Consequently people sought their explanations elsewhere.
The superstitious, which numbered among its ranks the
vast majority of the peasantry, were quick to attribute the
storm to the fairies. Traditionally the 5th of January was
the feast of St. Ceara, when, it was believed, the fairies
held a night of revelry. The fairies, they thought, caused
such ructions that the storm resulted. Others believed that
on that night all but a few of the fairies of Ireland left
the country never to return and that the wind was caused by
their departure.
The devout, noting that the storm occurred on the night
of 6th of January - the Christian feast of Epiphany, the day
Christ made his being known to the world - saw it as of
Divine origin. All the more so since many Roman Catholics in
Ireland believed that the 7th of January would be the Day of
Judgement. The wrath of God was a favourite reason cited by
newspaper correspondents of the day of all persuasions. For
many, the Night of the Big Wind caused them to re-think
their lives as it re-awakened their belief in the existence
of God.
Freemasonry, traditionally seen by Irish Catholics as
associated with demonic practise, was considered to be
another possible cause. Some people were of the opinion that
Freemasons had brought up the devil from hell - and couldn't
get him to return.
The weather remained unsettled in the days after the
Night of the Big Wind and occasionally the wind became gusty
causing people to fear that the storm would return.
In mid-January the aurora borealis reappeared again
stirring up panic. The ill wind blew good for some people:
merchants, carpenters, slaters, thatchers and builders in
particular were busy renovating public buildings and the
properties of the wealthy. The poor, who could not afford to
hire such services, had to survive as best they could. The
Night of the Big Wind happened prior to the introduction of
government relief measures and widespread insurance. The
relationship between landlord and tenant dictated that the
tenant made good damage caused by storms. What little
reserve of cash was held by the poor was used up in
rebuilding and restocking. In many cases houses were
re-built in sheltered locations at the bottom of hills, and
for many years, until the advent of sturdier building
materials, shelter from the wind was a primary factor in
choosing a house-site Famine followed seven years later. It
almost completely wiped out the class that suffered the most
on the Night of the Big Wind.
As the century progressed, the Night of the Big Wind
became a milestone in time. Events were referred to as
happening before, or after The Night of the Big Wind.
Seventy years later, in 1909, old age pensions were
introduced in Ireland entitling persons over seventy years,
whose income did not exceed ten shillings per week, to an
allowance of five shillings per week from the State. Those
who met the means qualification, but had no documentary
proof of their ages, were granted pensions if they affirmed
recalling the Night of the Big Wind.
There were other big storms in Ireland's past - 856, 988,
1362, 1548 and 1703 AD. Despite the advances made by science
since 1839, we still do not have the means to predict or
prevent the next storm of its calibre.
The above article appeared in Vol. VIII of the South Mayo
Family Research Journal published in 1995. The
South Mayo Family Research Foundation publishes a
journal annually containing articles of interest to
historians and genealogists. Vol. IX of the Journal will be
published in July 1996.
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