Ireland's Arctic Siege: The Big Freeze of 1947

On 19 January 1947 Ireland was invaded by a two-month-long arctic siege that brought freezing temperatures of 7øF, a piercing east wind reaching 60 to 70 m.p.h., five major blizzards, and snowdrifts of 12 to 20 feet. Cars, buses, houses and entire villages were buried, roads were blocked, telephone and electricity lines felled and towns and farms isolated as food and fuel dwindled. This is a vivid tale of suffering and courage, death and survival, of human resilience and real heroism.