School: Clochar na Trócaire, Leac an Anfa, Cathair na Mart

Location:
Leckanvy, Co. Mayo
Teacher:
An tSr. Treasa
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0138, Page 028

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0138, Page 028

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  1. XML School: Clochar na Trócaire, Leac an Anfa, Cathair na Mart
  2. XML Page 028
  3. XML “Severe Weather - A Snowstorm”

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  1. On the 18th Feb 1917 a snowstorm commenced which lasted for several weeks. The day previous was piercing cold, one would feel famished to go outside so just at nightfall it commenced to snow. When people went to feed their cattle about 10pm the snow was as high as the door steps of the stables and they found it impossible to open the doors till morning.
    Next morning they got shovels and made a heap of the snow away from the doors. It kept on snowing till the road was even with the walls, it was six feet high in several places. A person couldn't know the road from the fields and it was dangerous to go outside for fear of being smothered. A man died near Ballyleane (a few miles from Castlebar) and they found it very hard to carry the corpse to the graveyard. When they got there they found it very hard to make out the grave, after a long search they succeeded and strove to make their way home tired and fatigued.
    After a week or so provisions ran short. They couldn't go on the road to town with the horse and cart so they tried to trudge the way with the donkey, digging a path as they went. There was no mass in the country chapels, no priest or person could venture out. The
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. processes and phenomena
      1. frost and snow (~299)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    Maggie Gannon
    Gender
    Female
    Address
    Carrowmacloughlin, Co. Mayo
    Informant
    Mrs Sammin
    Gender
    Female
    Address
    Carrowmacloughlin, Co. Mayo