If you’re thinking we’ve had a tough winter so far, think again. Some of the older and wiser people about the place think we could be in for a blizzard before we’re finished.
They reckon the last few weeks have been almost identical to the weather that preceeded the ’Big Snow’ of March 23, 1947.
Carndonagh’s John ’Jock’ McLaughlin, of Glentogher was 33 years old when the big one hit. Although he’s 95 now, he still remembers it as if it was yesterday.
And his friend, Paddy Crossan, who was 11 at the time, says his memories are equally vivid. "Although I have to admit that what I remember is all the fun that we children had, going about on sleighs and playing in the snow."
Jock explains how the weather over the last few weeks have put him so much in mind of that time.
"It started out just like this weather we’ve been having. The snow showers started from about mid-January onwards. There wasn’t huge amounts of snow, but it seemed like there was some snow or ice on most days. It could happen again. "I wouldn’t like to see another big snow like it, but I suppose there’s better ways of dealing with it these days than there were back then.
"The big snow didn’t start until around 3 or 4 in the afternoon on March 23rd. I remember the Swilly Bus left Carndonagh. On its way back that night, it got stuck at Cross, Quigley’s Point. All the passengers had to stay the night in Hugh Toye’s. The bus was completely covered over by snow.
"They say that the snow was so bad that Bradley’s houses, near Drumfries, were completely covered too. They’re just below the road, so I can imagine that could well have happened.
"One of the most extraordinary stories was to do with Pat McLaughlin, from Glentogher. He was in hospital in Letterkenny and died. They tried to bring his body home but the hearse got stuck in Newtowncunningham.
"Then they brought him as far as Quigley’s Point in one of Jimmy Breslin’s lorries. But then the lorry got stuck too. So, they ended up bringing him the rest of the way by horse and sleigh - the snow was that atrocious that night.
"I had helped to dig that man’s grave earlier that day. Despite all the snow that fell and was lying all around, there wasn’t one bit of snow on or in the grave.
"Pat’s nephew, Owenie, who lived in Kinnaglug, arrived at the church the next morning for the funeral. Fr Bonner asked him how he’d managed to get there and he said he’d walked. He’d had a bit of bother though, as he’d put his foot into Hamilton’s chimney on the way!"
So how bad was it?
"The snow was everywhere, and deeper than I’ve ever seen. Across the road out there, it was right over the fence. And, in some places, where the wind blew it into drifts, it was as high as 30 feet.
"It was terrible hard to keep a fire lit through it. We had an open hearth and the sitting room opened right into the hall, so we had to keep a window open for the draught. It was freezing the whole time. The icicles were about a foot long. I’ve hardly even seen an icicle since!"
"People didn’t store up turf for the winter then. You went up to the bog to get what you needed for a wee while and then went back again. But there was no getting up to the bog during that. Thousands of sheep died up on the bog at the time. No one could get to them.
"I remember cutting away at the hawthorn outside the house, and using it to keep the fire going.
"You had to dig through the snow to get water from the spring. It’s strange but the spring didn’t freeze up, probably because the water was moving.
"You had to bring grub to the cattle and the chickens. You couldn’t let them out. Even if you did, there wouldn’t have been anything for them to eat.
"And, of course you had to walk everywhere. There were no tractors and hardly anyone even had a bicycle. It was hardest on the people living away up on the sides of the mountain. They couldn’t get in or out for days."
When did it end?
"There was snow right until the middle of May. In fact, there was snow on Sliabh Snacht right up until the middle of June.
"And, when it all started to melt, there was water everywhere. I remember the water running down our field like a river, sweeping everything along with it.
"As I remember it, the summer that followed was on of the best we’ve ever had - absolutely beautiful."
There it is, we can’t say we haven’t been warned. Keep the shovels and wellies handy. And bring the togs down out of the attic for the first of July.
sue.doherty@derryjounal.com
