Reading the sky: how Irish weather lore preserved a deep understanding of the natural world

Old Dublin by Joseph Malachy Kavanagh (between 1876 and 1918). Adams

Long before meteorology and climate science, Irish people looked to the natural world to forecast the weather and make sense of their surroundings. They read the skies, the seas and the behaviour of animals for signs of change: a halo around the moon meant rain was near; swallows flying low foretold a storm.

This weather lore – known as seanchas i dtaobh na haimsire in Irish – was grounded in generations of observation and shared through memorable sayings or rhymes.