Scarraveen.

Is this a Cork thing or all Ireland? The blustery weather from the 15 April to 15 May.

Heard the term about 15 years ago in North Kerry from farming people who would have been in their sixties then.
Never heard it before or since.
Obviously from Irish.
My rudimentary Irish suggests '' scaradh mhin'' pronounced as you wrote it.
Scaradh is a scattering or a separation. Min with a fada means mild, fine, sweet.,
I always interpreted it as meaning a division between harsh Wintry weather and mild summery days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alcatel

Heard the term about 15 years ago in North Kerry from farming people who would have been in their sixties then.
Never heard it before or since.
Obviously from Irish.
My rudimentary Irish suggests '' scaradh mhin'' pronounced as you wrote it.
Scaradh is a scattering or a separation. Min with a fada means mild, fine, sweet.,
I always interpreted it as meaning a division between harsh Wintry weather and mild summery days.

like some sort of april showers phenomenon..

Ive heard the term in the op, it sounded familiar when 'hearing' it as I read it :scratchchin:
but didnt know what it was.....until now.
basically the english way of saying it is 'april showers' (which I was aware of for years) which covers your explanation above: 'a division between winter and summer weather' that happens seasonally from about the 2nd week of april to the 2nd week in may. that phenomenon is an east coast thing as much as it is a kerry thing, and I think it would apply to the rest of ireland too.

Its great, because we live on a small island in the middle of the atlantic ocean our weather is changeable and generally rainy/damp, so this phenomenon is a welcome change from the sheets/day long rain of winter. theres the rain (but in short shower like activity) but because there is heat in the sun now it dries up quite quickly. also is a reminder summer is on the way and winter is on the way out too.

Unfortunately there is little heat, so far, this April.
The term April showers is around a long time.
Chaucer uses it in the prologue to his Canterbury Tales from 1400 and whatever.