From under the gloominess, darkness and depression of life, the sun breaks through.
Everyone knows that the country is in a mess with unemployment, finance and government systems falling apart. We are all tortured with the bad news that screams from the front page of every paper in Ireland.
But when the sun breaks through the cloud of depression, most Irish people seize the opportunity and the shorts come out of the wardrobe that were thrown in a year ago with the beach towel.
For a week now, the pale skin of Ireland has been exposed on the streets of the city and the laneways of the small towns. The warm weather wipes away the worries and the people of Ireland forget a little of their money problems and Seánaí Fitzpatrick and Michael O’Leary and his extra fees.
Isn’t it a nice characteristic that we have to celebrate the sun?
Friends meet each other, something they wouldn’t do without the rays of the sun. Barbeque parties are organised neighbours and family members are invited to spend time with each other.
It is often that we ignore the weather until the gods of the weather show us who is boss. The memories of the harsh winter of this year will stay in the minds of the people for a long while but in a way, isn’t it stories of the weather that starts people chatting on the buses of the cities and over the gates of the fields of this country.
Siún Ní Dhuinn is a writer and lecturer at UCD
