On This Day (8 April) in Irish Weather History
A chronological list of weather events and extremes that took place in Ireland on 8 April down through history.
1886: Deliveries of potatoes to the blight-stricken inhabitants of Achill Island in County Mayo are halted as severe weather keeps HRM gunboats tied up in Westport.
1897: Flooding is reported in the southern half of Ireland after an Atlantic depression brings torrential downpours.
1925: A lack of fodder because of the poor weather conditions in 1925 takes its toll on livestock in County Clare, with an estimated 85% death rate among yearlings in Doonbeg, Kilrush, and Loop Head in the west of the county.
1935: An influx of seals in Cork Harbour due to warm weather causes ‘a good deal of damage’ and ‘adversely affects catches,’ according to the Cork Board of Fishery Conservators.
1948: Strong winds at Shannon Airport force the cancellation of all Aer Lingus flights to Dublin. Elsewhere, a crew member of a steam trawler is injured in the rough weather and the fishing vessel is forced to seek safe harbour in Rosslare.
1952: Former Royal Navy engineer Kevin Lawler from Athy, County Kildare, prepares to set off from Howth, Dublin, in his 80-ton schooner for a solo journey across the Atlantic. His two-month journey will take him to New York.
1965: A 75 to 80% voter turnout in the 1965 General Election is attributed to the fine weather.
1977: Heavy fog in Bangor, County Down, slows drivers on the opening day of the Circuit of Ireland Rally.
1988: The heavy rains of March and early April give way to a dry spell, which comes as a relief to tillage farmers.
1996: The new, high-speed £65m Stena Explorer prepares to depart from Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire.
2002: Galway man Richard Donovan braves temperatures as low as minus 60 and winds of 60 kmh to complete his marathon run in the North Pole.
