Ireland's "Big Snow": 70th anniversary

Did you know that today, 24 February, is the 70th anniversary of one of Ireland's landmark meteorological events? Following several weeks of extreme frost a series of very heavy snowfalls began on Monday 24 February and continued intermittently for several weeks into March. The effects of the extreme weather remain indelibly imprinted on the minds of those who lived through it. As this selection of images from local West of Ireland newspaper reports indicates, the weather caused severe disruption to all areas of life. To read contemporary newspaper accounts of the "Big Snow" find the links to the Irish Newspaper Archive and the Irish Times Archive on the Library Catalogue. The images are from reports in the Connacht Tribune, Tuam Herald and Western People newspapers but newspapers from all around Ireland are represented in the Irish Newspaper Archive.