Degrees of Heat
Ireland is on the periphery of the “Heat Dome” which is bringing extremely high temperatures (over 40°C) to mainland Europe and parts of Britain. Temperatures on the Emerald Isle are somewhat lower, warm by Irish standards, but bearable (though it is quite humid).
To amuse my friends and colleagues sweltering under the Heat Dome, I thought I’d share this graphic from the Met Éireann weather app:
No doubt it will cause some amusement to see red for danger for temperatures of 25°C!
This type of weather reminds me of the hot summer of 1976, which I remember very well, not least because of the England versus West Indies Test Series that summer. I hadn’t realized until recently that the Windies played a match against Ireland that summer too, in Rathmines. Collis King was out for 24 in the WI first innings, off 6 balls (4 4 6 4 6 out)…
In the Dark 
June 23, 2026 at 12:03 pm
Yes, if high temperatures are so dreadful then why do Brits and Irish generally head southward for their summer holidays?
Cold is far more dangerous, as it causes blood vessels to constrict, so people with partly clogged arteries face raised risk of heart attack or stroke.
June 23, 2026 at 12:16 pm
“Mad Dogs and Englishmen…”
June 23, 2026 at 12:18 pm
People of British descent routinely play league cricket in 40-degree heat in Australia.
June 23, 2026 at 12:17 pm
I was back home in Stockport after my first year at Cambridge, and with my father I went to the 1976 Old Trafford Test Match in which Mike Selvey on his debut reduced West Indies to 26-4. But then Gordon Greenidge made a century in each West Indian innings, Brian Close was peppered by Michael Holding, and England were thrashed and lost the next two tests to end the series 3-0. It was the summer of Viv Richards and Michael Holding, after Tony Greig’s hubristic comment that he’d make the West Indies grovel.
June 23, 2026 at 12:22 pm
I particularly remember Dennis Amiss batting valiantly in a lost cause for 203 in the 5th test. I think he was the first English cricketer I saw wearing a helmet when batting.
June 23, 2026 at 12:28 pm
My father drove down to pick me up after my first year and we went to a day of Combined Universities vs West Indies at Fenners. Andy Roberts knocked Peter Roebuck’s cap off after Roebuck failed to duck low enough.
Roberts had two stock bouncers, a slower one that ballooned over the batsman’s head, and a faster one aimed at the throat. He ‘got’ Colin Cowdrey with the two bowled in that order when they first met in county cricket.