The Night of the Big Wind

Weather-related events and disasters seem to be all around us at the moment, don’t they? Here in Ireland, we’re staring into the face of Hurricane Ophelia – due to hit our shores on Monday evening. There will be high winds, stormy seas and damage to trees and electricity lines – but we are fortunate here in Ireland to have a benign climate compared with other parts of the world.

However, as a result – when a big weather event hits it can be remembered for generations. And that is the subject of our letter today.

Here’s Some Money if You Tell Me Your Age.

Nowadays, we are conscious of our age from the time we can speak. We have birth certificates, birthday parties, driving licenses, identity cards and pensions to remind us along the way – whether we appreciate them or not! No wonder we get frustrated as we look back and wonder how the age of an ancestor often seemed to fluctuate as they advanced through life – making it difficult for their descendants to pin down a branch in the family tree. The truth was, age and date of birth were not important to people who worked from an early age. Instead, they celebrated the feast-days of the saints and noted the effect of the seasons on their small-holdings and animals. There was no real motivation to remembering your own age.

Then, from 1864, civil records were introduced to Ireland. From that point on, while you may not remember your own age (or need to), some official was in a position to check your birth, marriage or date of death. However, whole generations of people were born before 1865 and still had no accurate idea of their own age. This had a big impact when the Old Age Pension was introduced in 1909.

Maybe you are familiar with the Irish censuses of 1901 and 1911? These are two most recent – and most intact – records of people and place. They are used extensively by amateur genealogists as they attempt to map the dates and movements of their ancestors in Ireland. However, you will often find the recorded age of an ancestor jumping more than the 10 year gap between 1901 and 1911. For example, they might appear as 55 in 1901 – but reappear as 71 in the 1911 census. Have you ever noticed this? Maybe you have a few examples in your own family?

The Old Age pension was introduced for most people over the age of 70 in January, 1909. Suddenly, people were motivated to age themselves either correctly – or stretch themselves older by a few years. However, there was a problem. These potential pensioners were born at a time before civil records came into existence in 1864. Who knew what age they were? How would we find out? The answer was to ask them some simple questions. One of those questions was: “Do you remember the Night of the Big Wind?”.

The Night of the Big Wind.

On the evening of January 6th, 1839 – a hurricane blew over Ireland. As I mentioned earlier, we are not used to extreme weather events in Ireland – and this was a big one! Over the course of that night, many families lost the simple sod and thatch off their roofs – also losing the savings often kept in the roof for safe-keeping. Animal feed and seed were blown to the four corners and destroyed. Trees and ruined castles that stood for hundreds of years were leveled in hours.

The sound of the wind must have been frightening through the dark night – but this was also an unexpected storm – and so was attributed to many dark and supernatural forces. When people stood outside their houses as daylight returned, many of the familiar landmarks around them had shifted or disappeared. Surely this was the hand of God – or the devil?

People were nervous that the wind would return in the days and months afterwards. The storm also had a large social impact. Whole communities lost their housing, savings, animals and more. Miraculously, there was little loss of life. Houses were rebuilt in more sheltered areas of the land as people waited for the inevitable return of the Night of the Big Wind – or “Oíche na Gaoithe Mhóire” (pronounced “eeha na gweeha vora” in Irish). It never did return to the same extent. But, it did enter into the folklore of the Irish – as they remembered the terror of the night, the hardship that followed through story and song.

And so it came about that in 1909 – as people were tested for eligibility for the Old Age Pension, one of the questions asked was “Do you remember the night of the Big Wind?” – a positive answer indicating you were more than seventy years of age. Over 260,000 pensions were applied for in the first 3 months of 1909. By the time the 1911 census had come about, many of our ancestors had adjusted their ages upwards to become more “pension-friendly”!

I’m sure we’ll have nothing like the “Night of the Big Wind” here in Ireland tomorrow – but we do have the cushion of preparation, insurance and government relief – all supports that our ancestors lacked back in 1839.

If you are suffering from extreme weather events in your part of the world at the moment – we do hope that this Irish blessing offers some small consolation:

“May God give you…

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.”