Soothsaying postman says country will soon be enveloped by good weather

A DONEGAL postman has delivered some good news on the weather front, predicting an imminent end to the summer misery.

Michael Gallagher, a 60-year-old soothsayer, was handed down the age-old gift to accurately forecast the weather while doing his rounds among the last generation of families living high in the Blue Stack mountains.

“I’m very confident that the news is good. The signs are very, very good that there’s a big change on the way,” he said.

And, for the cynics, even Met Éireann agrees that a “big improvement” is expected on the ceaseless drizzle that has marked this summer out as one of the worst in recent memory.

Mr Gallagher, a postman for 40 years, examines the habits of birds, livestock and even domestic pets while keeping an eye on the weather.

“There are 101 different signs but the ones to watch out for are the storks and the mist on the mountain,” he said.

“I was over in the Croaghs [The Blue Stacks] and I saw a lot of mist on the very top of the hills at around six o’clock in the morning.

“And second of all, I saw a stork going up the mountains and that’s a very good sign. That’s the first time I saw that this year.”

The Glenfin man believes a big breakthrough will come during the quarter-moon this week.

“It could be a week or two weeks of good weather and after that it will settle down. I’ve an awful hunch that September will be coming in nice too,” he said.

“I’m very, very happy with the signs.”

Although Met Éireann is adamant nobody can accurately predict the weather more than 10 days in advance, it also signalled hope.

“There will be an improvement this week,” said forecaster, Jean Byrne. “Certainly through Tuesday, Wednesday and probably Friday it looks like a lot of dry weather, in fact dry in most parts.”