Damien Enright: Shooting the breeze in the Canary winds

The gusts would blow you off your feet and make you lose your step if they slapped you on the back on a mountain path

The winds were so strong, Paddy, the 'mil leche', might have been windborne to Ireland, a country he has never visited, despite his name.

Last Tuesday, Courtmacsherry lifeboat volunteer Dara Gannon sent me a WhatsApp attachment illustrating the winds forecasted to rake Ireland the next day. They looked seriously disruptive and a no-go day for fishermen.

Wind force was 35 knots and gusting to 60. One knot equals 1 mile an hour, which equals 1.61 km/h. Thirty-five knots would be registered as force seven on the Beaufort Scale and described as: "Whole trees are in motion; walking against the wind is difficult."