red sky

by Prof Paul Hardaker
Chief Executive of The Institute of Physics

The Institute of Physics (IoP) is the national physical society for both Ireland and the UK, so I often find myself travelling through Dublin airport.  Where I board the plane there are tributes to the famous Irish poets, including a personal favorite, William Butler Yeats.  He wrote a beautiful poem called cloths of heaven, which I have to share with you here:

Ex-Hurricane Ophelia brought wet weather and gusts exceeding 90 mph to the UK and Ireland on 16th October 2017, the 30th anniversary of the Great Storm of 1987. 

The stormy remnants of Ophelia brought windy conditions to many parts, especially northern and western regions, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, uprooting trees, ripping off roofs and causing power outages to 330,000 homes and businesses. Three people were killed in incidents related to the storm, with two being struck by falling trees. It has been declared Ireland’s worst storm on record.