The Argus

Grandfathe­r from Dublin, grandmothe­r from Drogheda, neither a snowboard stronghold

- Seamus O’Hanlon

THE Beast from the East combined with Storm Emma to create some of the most testing weather conditions Ireland has experience­d in over 30 years.

Blizzards, strong winds, drifting snow and bitter cold caused widespread disruption to the country and completely obliterate­d the weekend’s sporting schedule.

Early in the week the entire SSE Airtricity League fixture list was postponed, but not before Dundalk cruised to their first league victory of the season, crushing Limerick 8-0 on Tuesday night at Oriel Park.

On Thursday evening GAA chiefs made the decision to cancel all 33 Allianz League fixtures, the first time an entire weekend programme of games was cancelled since the Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001.

Croke Park is now facing a potential major headache in both the football and hurling competitio­ns as the CCCC have in- sisted that no league games will be played beyond April 1st, freeing up the whole month of April exclusivel­y for club activity.

Since it was announced back in October, I always doubted how this aspiration­al concept would work in practical terms.

Already some inter-county teams have arranged April training camps and it remains to be seen whether managers will release players back to the clubs just weeks before the provincial championsh­ips begin.

Last weekend’s postponeme­nts will only add to the farce.

As schools and workplaces closed down and the country went into lockdown on Thursday afternoon, many people were caught unprepared for the unexpected ‘snow days’ that followed.

Yes everyone played their part in the frenzied build-up and contribute­d to the mass hysteria that emptied supermarke­t shelves of our main staples, namely bread, milk and wine.

But very few put much thought into how to keep the kids entertaine­d and stave off the unavoidabl­e cabin fever. Like many rural areas along the east coast, our road was completely snowed in from Thursday evening, with six foot snowdrifts completely blocking our main route to the outside world.

It was great fun for the first few hours, but there is a limit to the amount of snowmen you can build. Was it just me or has it now become a hell of a lot more difficult to build a snowman?

I don’t ever recall struggling so much to roll a big ball of snow around the garden. Memory told me ‘the bigger the better’, but it took a lot more time and effort than I bargained for. The recent Winter Olympics in Pyeong Chang provided huge inspiratio­n to alleviate the inevitable boredom

that followed the snowball fights and snowmen. Ireland had just five athletes competing in South Korea last month, including Seamus O’Connor who has strong links to Co Louth with cousins in Clogherhea­d. His grandfathe­r from Dublin, his grandmothe­r from Drogheda, neither a snowboardi­ng stronghold.

However, judging by the improvised activity on our road over the last few days, the townland of Balgathern alone might be in a position to send a team to Beijing in 2022.

The ingenuity and imaginatio­n put into creating some of the equipment was incredible. Makeshift snowboarde­rs and improvised cross-country skiers competed franticall­y for space on the icy slopes with homemade bobsleighs (sawn-inhalf plastic barrels), skelethons (tea trays) and luges (bin lids) all reaching breakneck speeds. Passers-by and innocent bystanders suddenly became expert ski jumpers and figure skaters out of pure necessity just to avoid the downhill traffic.

I’m not entirely convinced that Igloo Constructi­on or Hot Whiskey Drinking will ever become true Olympic pursuits, but we’ve definitely stolen a march on the others if either activity is introduced for future games.

We finally broke through the snowdrifts on Sunday afternoon, reaching Donegans in Monasterbo­ice where we were ably fed and watered by the ever-welcoming Jimmy Berrill and his hospitable team. Perhaps the weather event was some kind of divine interventi­on designed to make us all slow down and take stock.

The few days away from the humdrum and number-crunching of normal life was great fun while it lasted and the kids will remember it for years to come. And who knows, we might even have unearthed a few more Seamus O’Connors.

 ??  ?? Seamus O’Connor in action in Pyeong Chang.
Seamus O’Connor in action in Pyeong Chang.
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