Wyndham’s Land Bargain
The year began with a reminder of the material vulnerability of life in an Atlantic island. From 18 to 27 February, successive depressions brought exceptionally stormy weather. The night of 26–27 February was remembered as among the severest since the ‘Night of the Big Wind’ of 1839. Trees fell in great numbers: reports recorded thousands uprooted on estates near Birr and in County Kilkenny, while the Phoenix Park in Dublin lost a remarkable quantity of mature timber. Roofs, chimneys and other exposed buildings were damaged across the country. For households dependent on fragile rural communications, small holdings, fishing and outdoor labour, such weather was more than a dramatic spectacle; it could interrupt work, damage property and deepen insecurity at the end of winter.