We had plenty of warning about the ferocity of storm Éowyn. Consequently, I think no farmer slept properly on Thursday night. However, thanks to Met Éireann’s advice, people understood the message to shelter in place.

We prepared well on Thursday. Tim and Colm had a chat that morning to identify vulnerable things that were around the yards. The animals were all fed well with adequate feed in front of them for the duration of the storm hours. The big bins were put into the shed and items like spare roof sheets were tied down in the hope of keeping them in place.

I tidied around the house and garden, removing any pots and garden furniture that could blow about, the risk being that a wind borne chair might break a window. I was surprised at actually how much tidying I had to do.

While the whole country was under a status red warning from the early hours of Friday morning, we knew that down south we would probably escape the worst effects of storm Éowyn.

The folk in the west of Ireland and across the midlands and north were in for a battering. I was, of course, thinking of people and friends I knew in those areas and in my heart hoping they’d be safe.

A restless night

It was a weird feeling going to bed on Thursday night wondering what the morning might bring. I slept fitfully. The storm was noisy. I could hear some long stems of Boston ivy walloping against the walls and window. They would have to be trimmed back. Mother nature has her own way of gardening.

There was howling and gnarling of branch against branch and the odd release of tension as stems broke away. The whistling and wailing of the wind in the garden trees and shrubs kept me tossing and turning.

Still, I was able to decipher in my semi-conscious state that there were no flapping metal sounds. No grinding and grating of roof iron, no ripping of nails and no loud bangs as iron was torn from a roof.

Those were the memories of storm Ophelia from 2017 and they left me scarred and scared of storm force winds. I was relieved when morning finally came and I got up thinking “just a few hours more”.

As morning dawned and the sun came up, I realised that storm Éowyn had done a mighty clean up job around the garden. There had been plenty of dead leaves about. They were mostly brushed up and gone. The grass in the surrounding fields was combed in one direction. The snowdrops had endured.

Two hawks soared high in the sky and several crows played in the wind below them. The great tits were back on the bird feeder and didn’t seem to notice that it was blowing a full 180 degrees, while they enjoyed breakfast. The living room windows were covered in white dried droplets. We wondered if it was salt from the sea?

There was no damage to roofs visible. We still had power which was a huge bonus.

Farm buildings

Met Éireann were saying that the hurricane grade winds could strengthen before abating. Caution was advised, especially for the western parts of the country.

There were almost one million customers across the island without power on Friday afternoon, one was Julie and David’s house in Enniskeane. There had been record-breaking wind speeds logged and there would be huge disruption and damage to be repaired. The relevant workers have busy weeks ahead.

Farmers need to be mindful of reinforcing farm buildings and making structures safe in order to withstand future weather events. Yes, that costs. It’s one more hidden cost for the future-proofing of our livelihoods.