Wellington Bridge and Wildgoose Fire
The weather of 1816 was remembered for cold, wet and unsettled conditions. Modern climatology identifies volcanic aerosols from Tambora as a major cause of the broader climatic disturbance, while also recognising that regional weather patterns shaped how it was felt locally. For Irish people, the decisive fact was practical: fields yielded poorly, and crops that did grow could be difficult to ripen, gather, store or sell. The potato crop was deficient in both quantity and quality. Contemporary parliamentary discussion the following spring stressed that potatoes, the people’s most important food, could not be preserved properly. Oats and other grains were also affected.