In response to Emer McLysaght’s article on the richness of the Irish language when it comes to describing rain, published on October 11th in the Life section, I would like to share some of the unique meteorological phrases used in my local area which could very well puzzle outsiders. For instance, we use “a sheeven of snow” for a light snowfall, a drizzle is referred to as “a squib of a shower”, and a blizzard is called “a sweep o’ snow”. Not to mention the phrase “a brightness at the butt of the wind”, which I believe will perplex most. Moreover, a particularly windy day is labelled “hash weather”.
Yours sincerely,
Mattie Lennon,
Blessington,
Co Wicklow.
