Night of the Big Wind

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.

[6][7][8] 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.

Contemporary accounts of damage indicate that the Night of the Big Wind was the most severe storm to affect Ireland for many centuries.

Between a fifth and a quarter of all houses in Dublin suffered damage ranging from broken windows to complete destruction.

A total of 42 ships, most along the less sheltered west coast, were wrecked while unsuccessfully trying to ride out the storm: a majority of the recorded casualties occurred at sea.

[1][6] Stacks of hay and corn were widely destroyed, resulting in severe starvation among livestock in the following months.

The Loss of the Pennsylvania New York Packet Ship; the Lockwoods Emigrant Ship; the Saint Andrew Packet Ship; and the Victoria from Charleston, near Liverpool during the Hurricane on Monday and Tuesday 7–8 January 1839
A chunk of the Bishop's Palace on the Rock of Cashel , Ireland, traditionally said to have blown down in the Big Wind. [ 9 ]
Plaque on a building in Styal , Cheshire noting that it was damaged in the event. Plaque reads: "part of this building was destroyed by the great gale of Jan 1st [ sic ] 1839"