Lenten fast and abstinence were strictly observed in Ireland in our grandparents time and they had to abstain from all meat and dairy products. Lent became a time when smokers tried to give up smoking while others tried to give up drink. At one time there was no music, dancing or marriages during Lent. A …

The following is an excerpt from an article in Ireland’s Own magazine ( No. 5531, January 8, 2016) by Martin Sweeney. On 24th February 1947, Co. Mayo and most of the country came to a standstill with a blizzard. Around then, I became interested in meteorology and began recording the weather with a few instruments. …

  The Big Wind stuck Ireland on the night of January 6 to 7, 1839, it was the worst storm to have swept the country for 300 years, up to 300 people died and the modern equivalent of £250 million of damage was sustained across the country. In the days before the  storm, the weather …

Sea trout also known as brown trout live complicated lives. Like salmon, they begin their lives in a river hatched from eggs that were laid in a small nest called redds. As the young fish mature they go through several development stages, all of which involve substantial physiological changes. The most important stage from this …