The Irish are compelled to talk about the weather, and with good reason. As a historically agricultural country, the fluctuating heavens and changeable winds have been the difference between wealth and poverty, life and death, 99s by the sea and no 99s by the sea for generations.
Now, a landmark show will delve into the details of weather and our relationship to it, just as we turn a corner into summer - whatever that will mean this year.
Weather Live will be broadcast live from a hub in the National Botanic Gardens over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Kathryn Thomas will host the spectacular event, and she will be joined by science boffin, Phil Smyth, who will be doing some practical experiments to explain the science behind weather, as well as some familiar faces from Met Éireann.
In the lush setting of the Botanic Gardens in bloom, the show will explore what makes Irish weather so unique and why we have become a nation famed for it, for reasons both good and bad.
Anecdotes and national stereotypes aside, the show will also investigate major weather events of recent years including the Beast from the East and Ireland’s latest heatwaves, sorting fact from fiction and highlighting how weather affects our everyday lives.
Kicking off on Tuesday, Kathryn will be joined in the Botanic Gardens by Henry Shefflin - the most decorated hurler of all time - who will discuss the various ways that weather has played a part in his sporting career. Fascinatingly, he'll share details of how Croke Park's micro-climate poses its own challenges.
On Wednesday, Aoibhin Garrihy and her Everest-climbing husband John Burke will undertake a climb of Carrauntoohil, and all in the name of science! Scaling Ireland's highest peak is certainly a thrilling way to learn about Irish weather.
Back on solid ground in the Botanic Gardens, Aoibhin will share her experience of ascending Carrauntoohil while seven months pregnant, while John shares his experience of summiting Mount Everest.
Finally, former newsreader Aengus Mac Grianna brings his alpaca for a jaunt in the Botanic Gardens Studio, sharing what it's been like to work closer to the land. Meanwhile, comedian Colm O’Regan ponders how the weather influences the Irish way with words and filmmaker Colin Stafford Johnson describes his working life immersed in nature and the elements.
Watch Weather Live on Tuesday 30th April, Wednesday 1st May, Thursday 2nd May, 7.00pm on RTÉ One.
