Yesterday we dug our car out from under half a foot of snow and left Wexford for a long, careful drive up the South-East of Ireland before heading West to Galway. The first section was like driving through the landscape of Germany or Austria in winter, without the benefit of a country used to heavy snowfall. The entire countryside was swathed in white, and the snow-capped mountains appeared ready for skiers. As we passed through the Wicklow mountains we encountered a minor blizzard but luckily we were on clear, good roads and left it behind after a short distance. Once we hit the motorway to the West of Ireland the…