Patrick Holloway: Aurora borealis brought magic to an ordinary night

Witnessing the marvel brought me beyond my garden, and back to a place where magic exists, where other worlds and parallels are not fantasy

The Northern Lights at Crosshaven, Co Cork, on  January 19, 2026. Pictures: Joleen Cronin

For anyone in Cork, or Ireland for that matter, Monday, January 19, 2026, was a special evening. 

I was just in the door from yoga after a class where I felt I might finally be moving my body in ways that were incomprehensible a few short months ago.