Irish winters are dramatic. You have to give them that. Howling gales, sheets of rain, and long dark nights are the downside. But they do have their highlights.
Solar storms set off a spectacular aurora borealis show in January. You know how the lights hit your eyes when you come out of a dark movie theater? Well, this was the scene that greeted us when we came out of the lecture hall at the Burren College or Art one night last month. We were watching a film at our regular “Monday Movie Night” gathering, then we stumbled out into cold night to see this light show.That’s Newtown Castle, a landmark of the college campus in the foreground.
Winter is also prime time for Irish oysters. As I explained in my book, Sex Death & Oysters, the bivalves fatten up in the winter cold by putting on the compound called glycogen–which tastes sweet to us humans.
Ireland is one of the last places where European flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) are harvested in any quantity. They are then replanted all over Northern Europe from Belon to Colchester, fattened in tidal pools, and renamed for their new locales.
“Galway Flats” is the local name for the native Irish oysters transplanted to Kelly Oyster’s extensive beds near Killcolgan. We are extremely lucky to be able to dine on these beauties at the local oyster bar, Moran’s of the Weir.
February is the considered the beginning of Spring in Ireland, as I mentioned in a previous post on this blog. Daffodils, crocuses and snow drops are already blooming by St Brigid’s Day, February 1, a national holiday. St. Brigid is the female patron saint of Ireland, the distaff version of St. Patrick.
Never mind the frost, freezing rain, or darkness at 4:30 pm, it’s Spring. And don’t you forget it.