Editorial: human kindness shined through in the snow

It’s been a very cold week, and yet the stories I’ve heard in the last few days of people helping each other in the snow would warm your heart. Life must go on when the snow falls but things very nearly came to a halt in Clonoulty, Rossmore, Co Tipperary last Sunday morning.

Around 8.30am, the family of Bridie Hammersley looked out at the wintery scene and had to make a call – would Bridie’s funeral go ahead later that morning or not?

It seemed very unlikely until a few calls were made and local residents came on board to help the family out. Eight tractors were powered up and the neighbours were out with shovels clearing the roads. By 10.30am, Clonoulty was practically the safest place in Munster to bury someone, according to Timmy Hammersley, Bridie’s grandson.

“It allowed us give her the send-off she deserved,” he said. “[Bridie] was a woman who never caused any bother really, never caused any hassle herself, but the weather definitely caused hassle for her in her last days. People came together during a challenging time and our family was on the receiving end of that over the weekend,” said Timmy on RTÉ News at One.

Many of us have witnessed the extraordinary efforts of rural communities during funerals but this story certainly brings local support to another level.

That community support also came into play in Wolfhill, in Co Laois. I’m sure there must have been a few moments of panic when the driver of a Tirlán milk tanker found himself stuck on a frozen road. So imagine his relief when he saw three farmers coming to help out.

A video by Carlow Weather’s Alan O’Reilly shows a Claas tractor towing the milk tanker with the caption, “Thanks to Cathal, Éanna and Patrick for keeping the Julian’s milk moving. Fair play lads!”

In Co Kerry, the IFA were mobilised by the HSE to help deliver essential medical supplies as well as turf and food. Farmers were again clearing the roads but as much as they were giving help, they also needed help and local communities rallied around to deliver feed to animals.

Winter wonderland

That’s the thing about this cold weather. While everyone is told to hunker down and keep warm, farmers have to think about the practicalities of whether their animals are safe.

While our area wasn’t impacted by the snow too much this time, I’ll never forget the ‘Beast from the East’. All the water pipes froze at the yard where my mother-in-law had her horses and the laneway to the stables was impassible.

The snow was so high, it was halfway up my thighs and you could barely see in front of you. Yet the horses needed water, there was no two ways about it. And so, a gang of us gathered around my mother-in-law and we walked up and down three fields of snow many times lugging two or three 5ltr bottles of water each.

It was a hard slog, and yet when the memories of March 2018 come up on my phone, it shows pictures of us all laughing in a winter wonderland.

People come together when they need to, and sometimes you do it without being asked. A friend of mine was telling me about their elderly neighbour who is quite an independent woman. She saw her struggling to clear her driveway, so she grabbed a shovel and cleared the path for her. Human kindness really can shine in the snow.