Colleagues mourn death of writer who brought the weather to life

Meteorologist and Irish Timescolumnist Brendan McWilliams has died after a short illness.

McWilliams (63) was best known for his Weather Eye column in The Irish Times, which he wrote for 20 years, and his weekly slot on RTÉ Radio One's Today with Pat Kenny.

He popularised the science of meteorology and used his erudition, with regular quotes from literature, the Bible and the classics, to make it accessible to the general public.

In his last column, which was published on October 3rd, he quoted from the English poet Andrew Marvell in describing autumn leaves as "like golden lamps in a green night".

Irish Timeseditor Geraldine Kennedy described Mr McWilliams as a "quintessential part" of the newspaper.

"His quirky column, where science met art and literature, built up a huge following among readers over the last 20 years," she said. "It was a mark of Brendan's commitment to that column that he brought his laptop into hospital with him three weeks ago, but never got to use it. He is irreplaceable."

McWilliams grew up in Waterville, Co Kerry. He was the son of a meteorologist, Seán McWilliams, who was in charge of the Valentia Observatory in Co Kerry. He followed his father into the Met service after earning a degree in science from University College Cork.

He began as an operational aviation weather forecaster at Shannon airport before becoming a forecaster at the Central Analysis and Forecast Office in Dublin. He became head of administration at Met Éireann in 1981, and after gaining an MBA from UCD in 1987, went on to become assistant director, operations and administration and deputy director of Met Éireann. In 1998 he became the director of administration of the European Meteorological Satellite Organisation (EuMetSat) in Darmstadt, Germany, a position he held until his retirement in 2004.

Met Éireann director Declan Murphy said he was "deeply shocked".

"He played a unique role in communicating information about meteorology," Mr Murphy said. "He had an outstanding ability to transform scientific and technical information in a manner that inspired people's imaginations, and he was both enlightening and entertaining.

"He was very good company. He was calm, he had a sense of humour and he could laugh at himself. He will be greatly missed by all his friends and colleagues."

Prof Ray Bates, adjunct professor of meteorology at UCD and a family friend, said the breadth of McWilliams's knowledge, as reflected in his column, indicated his many interests which included not only science and literature, but art, music and sailing. "He grew up as an only child with a large library at his disposal. He was very well read in literature and in science," Prof Bates said. "He had a very light touch even when talking about serious matters."

Global warming was an issue he addressed on a regular basis in his column. He had warned that climate change could "precipitate unimagined and unanticipated woes".

McWilliams lived in Wexford after his retirement. He is survived by his wife Anne, an artist, his son Stephen, daughter Laurie and his grandson Adam.

His removal takes place from Mulligan's funeral home, The Faythe, Wexford town, tomorrow at 7pm to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, followed by his funeral on Thursday at noon.

Click here for the final Weather Eye column written by Brendan McWilliams.

Weather Eye: the warmth and wisdom of Brendan McWilliams

So as regards our doleful experience this summer, all one can say is that it has happened before, and will undoubtedly occur again. But it is not in any sense indicative of any trend. ... Weather Eye, July 21st, 2007

We have a pattern where global temperatures are consistently above the levels of a quarter of a century ago, where temperature records are broken regularly, and where months and years are warmer than their predecessors with increasing frequency. The spectre of global warming stands before us; the world, as Anderson and Weil's song nicely puts it, "hasn't got time for the waiting game" ... Weather Eye, October 25th, 2006

Does anybody suffer nowadays from corns? When I was a lad, many mega-moons ago, all the oldies in my local village were forever complaining of their corns. It was well known in those days that active corns were an infallible precursor of the rain. There is no direct scientific evidence, that I know of, to support the corn thesis. It is true, however, that corns have rates of expansion and contraction different to normal skin, so a sudden rise in the humidity prior to the onset of rain might cause nerve endings to trigger sufficient pain to send Betty, untimely, to her bed. ... Weather Eye, February 15th, 2005

By way of explanation it is suggested that the absence of seasonal extremes may help to foster a more relaxed attitude to life, there being no need to make elaborate plans to cope with long, freezing winters and arid summers. But where the climate can be harsh at times, the pace of life may be driven by the seasons; the enforced discipline of timely preparation for extreme conditions may incline the local populace to the political right. ... Weather Eye, October 16th, 2005

In cool surroundings, the dissolved CO2 would be gradually released as bubbles over a relatively long period. But sadly, warm beer expels its CO2 more rapidly than cool beer. On this hot, sunny afternoon outdoors, the temperature of the beer has quickly risen, and the whole process of expelling carbon dioxide has accelerated. The end result I see before me - a flat, sickly, lukewarm liquid with not a trace of froth on top. ... Weather Eye, August 16th, 2003