On 19 January 1947 Ireland was invaded by a freakish anticyclonic weather phenomenon that lasted for two months. The arctic siege brought freezing temperatures of -14 Degrees Centigrade (7 DegreesF), a piercing east wind reaching 60-70 m.p.h., five major blizzards, and snowdrifts of 12 to 20 feet-some topping 50. 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. Tragically this happened amidst the worst fuel crisis in Ireland's history. People were forced to strip wood from their homes, and nearly half of all Dubliners were burning furniture to survive. By 19 February 1947 Dublin's death rate had more than doubled as the poor and elderly succumbed to hunger, cold and illness. Kevin C. Kearns presents a graphic account of what was regarded as a near-biblical calamity of blizzards, freezing, hunger, floods and threatened famine. This is a vivid tale of suffering and courage, death and survival, of human resilience and real heroism, poignantly authenticated by the oral testimony of those who lived through the arctic siege.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Gill
ISBN-13
9780717154487
eBay Product ID (ePID)
115785088
Product Key Features
Author
Kevin C. Kearns
Publication Name
Ireland's Arctic Siege: the Big Freeze of 1947
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
History
Publication Year
2012
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
304 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
190mm
Item Width
130mm
Item Weight
420g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Kevin C. Kearns
Country/Region of Manufacture
Ireland
Best Selling in Textbooks
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Textbooks