As any child of 1980s Ireland will tell you, the electricity went off on a fairly regular basis. It was as much a part of life as majority governments, Bananarama and Mass on a Sunday.
We were well set up though; my parents had a two ring gas stove, a gas cylinder in the shed waiting in readiness, a camping kettle in the high press, a dark and dingy coal bunker full to the brim and many tall candles carved lovingly into empty bottles of Blue Nun.
Because the lights went off so often, we knew what to do and were able to get on with life without much trouble. It was darker for sure and we couldn’t watch either one of the television channels. And we didn’t have anything that ever really needed to be charged up.
In 2025 things are a little different and, despite our huge advances, when the electricity network goes down, it takes out more than just the lights.
Ireland weather updates: Man dies in Donegal after tree falls on car during Storm Éowyn; hundreds of thousands without power
Cyclogenesis and sting jets: How Storm Éowyn turned out to be one of the most powerful to have ever hit Ireland
Connacht Airdome completely destroyed as Storm Éowyn brings record-breaking winds to west coast
Man dies in Donegal after tree falls on his car during Storm Éowyn
All started off promisingly at 4.30am on Friday in Termonfeckin, Co Louth - the dog scuttled out to use the outdoor facilities and quickly back in again, throwing me a puzzled and quizzical glance as to why his ears were flapping so furiously. The heat clicked on, the toaster popped, coffee pot gurgled, laptop flipped up and I logged in to start work on our Storm Éowyn coverage. All good until about 5.30am when the first flicker of the lights happened, followed shortly by another, this time a bit longer, and then a short time later total darkness.
With howling wind and the sound of house alarms from all around, I felt my way into the utility room for the candles, turned on a mobile hotspot and kept going. A short time later everything froze on the screens in front of me, 5G turned to 4G, to H and mobile data disappeared. Everything kaput.
Work became confined to ‘old fashioned’ phone conversations and writing this piece. I speak to several colleagues who are working from home in Dublin without issue. They are able to update me on what has been happening around the country, whole buildings flattened, roofs off buildings, power out across the island.
I find myself reminiscing about my late former colleague Michael O’Regan, who was known to keep up to date with the comings and goings in the political world by bending his ear towards a little battery operated FM transistor radio, and how I could do with a lend of it right now.
When the lights go off in 2025 it truly is like being stuck on a desert island. It’s just a little more inclement.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
