Just days after the big Christmas feed, BoyleSports – Ireland’s largest independent bookmaker – released its annual predictions for the year ahead.
Whilst eager punters were waiting for the due release of this guideline to hot bets for the year to come, none were too surprised with the addition of one in particular: that 2019 is set to be Ireland’s hottest year to date.
Prediction
BoyleSports states: “The mild weather has also been a hot topic over the festive period and it’s just a 5/2 chance that Ireland puts in the hottest year on record”.
Whilst the Christmas period saw temperate weather across the country, once again, citizens are in fear of a possible delayed-freeze as seen in February and March 2018.
Already foreseeing this possibility, Boylesports go on to say that, “if the disruptive storms make an unwelcome return, those dreaming of a white Easter can snap up 25/1 about snow on Sunday 21st April.”
Previous Conditions
2018 was a record-breaking year for weather across the Emerald Isle. Both extremely high and low temperatures took hold of the country and caused widespread havoc for citizens, livestock and business.
It is no secret that Ireland people have an unabashed obsession with the weather, yet never has it been more prevalent in our day to day discussions than through 2018 – a year distinguished by two intense weather periods.
The first was a delayed-freeze which took hold, following a somewhat mild Christmas 2017, in February and March 2018. It was, in fact, the largest snowfall in Ireland, on record, since 1982.
Storm Emma in late February 2018 caused severe disruption, unloading 30cm of white powder snow across the country resulting in the closure of schools, transport lines and businesses.
Following another severe chill in March, the weather took a hairpin turn and started to rise dramatically from May 2018 onward to become the hottest year in Ireland since 1995.
Record temperatures of up to 32 degrees scorched the country whilst roads were closed due to the melting tarmac. A severe drought wreaked havoc on farmers and livestock, and forest fires took hold in County Wicklow.
On 2 July 2018, a hosepipe ban was enforced on the Dublin area due to water shortages and was not lifted until 25 September 2018.
2019 Hot Bets
Other hot bets for 2019, as listed by BoyleSports, include an Oasis Reunion. 2019 will mark the 25th anniversary of the legendary band’s first album, Supersonic. Currently, it stands at 10/1 that the Gallagher’s will make a comeback this year.
In light of recent space exploration, NASA’s InSight robot recently landing on Mars and sightings of UFOs off the coast of Ireland, it seems fair that a hot bet for 2019 is an extra-terrestrial one. Bets are 10/1 that life will be found on Mars this year.
As the final season of Game of Thrones takes to the air in 2019, die-hard fans will be asking the one big question: who will lead Westeros? 4/1 it’s on Jon Snow.
