The Night of the Big Wind (Irish: Oíche na Gaoithe Móire) was a powerful European windstorm that swept across what was then the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, beginning on the afternoon of 6 January 1839, causing severe damage to property and several hundred deaths; 20% to 25% of houses in north Dublin were damaged or destroyed, and 42 ships were wrecked. The storm attained a very low barometric pressure of 918 hPa (27.1 inHg) and tracked eastwards to the north of Ireland, with gusts of over 100 knots (185 km/h; 115 mph).
The storm developed after a period of unusual weather. Heavy snow, rare in Ireland, fell across the country on the night of 5 January, which was replaced on the morning of 6 January by an Atlantic warm front, which brought a period of complete calm with dense, motionless, cloud cover. Through the day, temperatures rose well above their seasonal average, resulting in rapid melting of the snow.
Later on 6 January, a deep Atlantic depression began to move towards Ireland, forming a cold front when it collided with the warm air over land, bringing strong winds and heavy rain.
By midnight the winds reached hurricane force. Contemporary accounts of damage indicate that the Night of the Big Wind was the most severe storm to affect Ireland for many centuries. It is estimated that between 250 and 300 people lost their lives in the storm.
Newspapers surmised that 250,000 trees were destroyed, and folklore accounts indicate that the storm further altered the landscape by prompting the building of sturdier rural housing. A total of 42 ships, most along the less sheltered west coast, were wrecked while unsuccessfully trying to ride out the storm.
Stacks of hay and corn were widely destroyed, resulting in severe starvation among livestock in the following months.
The Night of the Big Wind became part of Irish folk tradition. Irish folklore held that Judgment Day would occur on the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January. Such a severe storm led many to believe that the end of the world was at hand.

P.S. January 6, 2014, Ireland faced almost the same kind of a storm caused by a "sting jet”.
"Sting jet” is a jet of air which builds up several kilometres above the ground before descending over three or four hours in a "crescent moon” shape. It accelerates to more than 160 km/h and can be exacerbated by snow or rain cooling it as it descends.
During the storm the Kinsale gas platform off the Cork coast was hit by a 25m high wave. Shannon Airport recorded a maximum gust of 160km/h on that day.
Up to 7.5 million trees were blown down – between 5,000 and 7,000 hectares of forestry - which was about one per cent of the national total.

"Sounds like a lot of hot air to me"

Commander McBragg "oh, uh, quite."

Thanks Martin Watson!

It's blows to live in Ireland.

1 In those latitudes there's normally a fair amount of wind. I was told, by the owner of a distillery on the Isle of Islay, that the wind blows constantly there. It doesn't stop him from making some of the world's best Scotch whiskey.

2 Well they ARE in the direct path of the Gulf Coast  Current and the air flow patterns that go with it. I imagine Ireland and Scotland both get a lot of wind all the time.

I guess that makes 'em make better booze; they need something to warm the bones!

3 You've got it. In fact, Talisker, one of the best of the semi-affordable single-malts, is billed as something you drink after you've been working in the cold outdoors for a long time. I agree totally. Wish I could afford to drink it during the winter.

4 Wish you could too. It's a shame a connoisseur such as yourself can't afford the good stuff.

Yeah; the Scots need it. After all, they wear skirts on cold, windy days!