Storms cause havoc across Ireland

Irish coast, 8 February 1923 - From north to south, on sea and on land, high winds and heavy rains have caused havoc to shipping, shopping and other services.  

Among the most serious incidents occurred on the Derry and Lough Swilly Railway, where two coaches of a train were swept off the rails in the wind and down an embankment. The passengers emerged shaken and bruised but with no serious injuries.  The derailment occurred between Kincrissalagh and Gweedore and the train service from Derry was canceled to points beyond Creeslough

At the far end of the country, the Irish Free State patrol boat, Slievenamon, ran ashore on rocks off Ballycotton, where it had been engaged in monitoring and investigating cargo vessels entering harbours on the south coast. A tugboat was called out to assist it.

Along that same stretch of coastline, several fishing boats were found lying smashed on beaches from the force of the winds. 

With seas described as mountainous it is unsurprising that many vessels sought shelter in locations like Queenstown Harbour, among them a Swedish schooner which had been journeying from Cardiff to Lisbon. After fourteen days at sea, faced with a succession of head winds, it had only reached as far as Queenstown and when it entered the harbour its sails were torn to shreds and it was low on water. 

In Dublin, strong gusts of wind blew in the window of a shop on Westmoreland Street. 

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]