Clodagh Finn: Why Storm Agnes leaves behind a silver lining

First storm of the season introduces the woman after whom it was named, a Cork-born astronomer, writer, and 'mother of popular science' to a wider public

Huge waves pounding the shore at Garrettstown, Co Cork, during Storm Agnes, this week. Picture Denis Minihane

Storm Agnes has done more than lash the country with wind and rain over the past week. The first storm of the season has also introduced the woman after whom it was named, Agnes Mary Clerke, Cork-born astronomer, writer and ‘mother of popular science’, to a wider public.

It is, perhaps, a double-edged honour to have a destructive weather event named after you, but this exceptional self-taught scientist might be pleased to know she came in at number one when Met Éireann asked the public to choose a storm name for the letter ‘A’.