I hadn’t even been back to Ireland for a full week before the worst storm in Irish recorded history hit. In the days leading up to Storm Eowyn, people at Trinity kept talking about “the big storm.” Despite frequent rain showers, the weather is mild, so I figured people were overreacting. I started to become more anxious when the news started calling it a “bomb cyclone.” This is how the weekend unfolded for me:
Thursday: I had one class in the morning, and then I went back to my apartment. I got an email from Trinity that all colleges and primary schools would be closed across the country on Friday due to the storm. Businesses began announcing that they would be closed or have a delayed opening until the afternoon. I decided not to volunteer that evening since the rain had already started. The worst was supposed to hit Dublin around 6 A.M. Per the weather app, hurricane winds were >73 mph, and Dublin would be getting hit with 76 mph winds at that time. The news said to prepare for power outages and to stay away from windows and the coast. I was anxious because there are two huge windows in front of my bed and I live ~5 miles from the beach. I decided to set an alarm for 6 A.M.; I would see how bad it was and shelter in my bathroom if necessary. By Thursday evening, I did some minor hurricane prep: charging all my devices and filling my water bottle up in case we had no water.
6 A.M. Friday: I woke up and there was no damage to my windows, just very loud winds. I made sure my ringer was on in case I got an alert and went back to bed.
Later on Friday: I spent the rest of the day in my apartment working on my class schedule and watching Netflix. Late in the evening, after all of the warnings had been lifted, I went to pick up ice cream. Despite some trash blown about and a random stick in the road, there wasn’t a lot of damage in my neighborhood. However, less than half a mile away, an ice rink was destroyed. I saw reports of how the main highway was deserted in the morning and air raid-like sirens were being played on Dublin’s most touristy street.
Saturday: For me, things were back to normal. I volunteered with a production of “Star Wars” that my charity society was putting on. The actors were the kids and adults with additional intellectual needs we volunteer with. All of the volunteers came on stage to sing and do a choreographed dance to “Hey Baby,” something they do every year. Read: I made my Dublin theater debut!
Sunday: The storm was now in the U.K., but we had residual rains left over. I didn’t do much on Sunday except visit my friend the bookstore she works at. She helped me order a copy of a book I needed for class.
The west (Mayo, Galway) were hit way worse than Dublin, and two people died because of the storm. I’m grateful that I had a safe place to be and was just fine.