Dylan O’Neill reports on the recent inclement weather and how it has impacted people all across Dublin

Workers attempt to clear the Luas line at Windy Arbour after the worst of the snowfall [Photo: Eoin Stynes]

Following the Government’s decision on Wednesday, all schools in Leinster and Munster were closed for the remainder of the week. Many rejoiced but for various Junior and Leaving Certificate-bound students this meant that mock exams, traditionally pre-Leaving or Junior Cert exams, were to be postponed.

Terenure College had planned to begin their exams last Wednesday. Sean Holmes, 18, is one such student who began his exams this past Monday. When asked how he would prepare with the extra few days, Holmes insisted he’d do “a bit of study in the morning” then head out and enjoy the snow with friends.

For St. Andrew’s College in Booterstown, they made the unconventional choice of circulating the final exams of their mocks to parents via email to share with students. With History being the final exam on Wednesday for some, students were advised to sit the exam in a closed environment from home with no distractions and to complete the test within the allocated time-frame as if in a normal exam.

“It’s really messing up my income because I have my bills to pay but on the other hand I’m happy to be off cause I’ve never seen snow in my life so I have time to enjoy this historical moment”

For 17-year-old Leaving Cert student Matteo Romoli, his first-choice for college is Business & Law in UCD. With the recent snow and exams being sent home for him, he’s not in favour of the decision from his school’s administration.

“I’m strongly against the whole doing the exams at home as opposed to postponing them and doing them at a later date as I feel it’s much harder to feel as if you’re in an exam environment at home”, he said.

“Sitting down for two hours to three hours straight at home is something most people can’t do nevermind teenagers who want to be out in the snow with their mates acting the fool. Personally, finding the urge to sit an exam at 10 in the morning for two hours is the last thing I want to be doing on a snow day.”

Romoli also expressed his skepticism over students doing their exams from home, saying that “people may be inclined to look at notes to try get better grades”.

“This won’t be a possibility in June come the Leaving Cert so it isn’t providing a similar atmosphere to students”.

Children around the country made the most of their time off from school [Photo: Eoin Stynes]

The snow has also wreaked havoc on employment around the city of Dublin, with many having their work shifts cancelled on very short notice.

Isadora, a Brazilian waitress and bar runner at a restaurant in Ballsbridge, had three consecutive shifts cancelled last week because of the weather. In Isadora’s case, as a foreign worker, this is her only source of income. However, as a Brazilian native, she’s not used to seeing snow, so she is trying to see the positives.

“It’s really messing up my income because I have my bills to pay but on the other hand I’m happy to be off cause I’ve never seen snow in my life so I have time to enjoy this historical moment”, she said.

Transport:

Public transport saw major delays and cancellations last week due to the impact of the snow. Dublin Bus services ended prematurely at 7pm on Wednesday and the service remained closed for the whole of Thursday and Friday. Similarly, Ryanair flights were also cancelled from 12pm onwards on Wednesday, with major disruptions continuing on Thursday and  Friday.

All flights to/from Dublin Airport have been cancelled for the remainder of the day, 28th Feb 2018. All affected customers will be notified of their options by email / SMS text message. pic.twitter.com/DaPqqRtKKY

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) February 28, 2018

Stephen Russell, who was due to fly to Prague on Thursday experienced delays as snow continued to fall and conditions worsened, an experience shared by hundreds of others over the week. “Still waiting” was his response an hour after their original take-off time, with their flight eventually departing after only a two hour delay.

Transport links were disrupted around the city with the Luas lines turning into walkways for those braving the elements [photo: Eoin Stynes]

“Yeah, one of little [few flights] going out”, said Liam English, an NCI student who was also flying to Prague. This was in response to whether he knew if there were other outbound flights scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

With the temperature falling to as low as -7°C in some parts, and the worst of the cold snap now over,  normal service for most public transport links has now resumed. Schools are also set to open in some places around the country depending on their individual circumstances.