Storm Éowyn recently swept across Ireland, causing widespread destruction and leading to massive power outages. It was the region's most powerful windstorm in decades, with winds reaching a record-breaking 183 kilometers per hour (114 mph).
While around 768,000 Irish citizens scrambled to adapt to a world without power, Margaret Gallagher of County Fermanagh calmly carried on with her normal routine; the 83-year-old pensioner has lived her entire life in a 19th-century cottage with no power or running water.
The 200-year-old cottage was purchased by Gallagher's grandfather in 1887, according to The Sunday Times. It not only has no power and no running water, but it was also built with no nails. It's even more amazing, then, that the vicious storm couldn't manage to sweep away her family home.
Gallagher battened down in a chair pressed up against the door of the cottage on the night of the storm. With her was a robin she brought in from its nest on the cottage's thatched roof. With the devastating wind gusts bearing down on her home, all she could do was sit and pray.
"I sat up all night and a good bit of the next day, and I prayed for the country, I prayed for myself, I prayed for everyone," she explained to The Times.
Apparently, someone was listening because the storm passed over and the cottage still stands. And while Gallagher's neighbors struggled with the prolonged loss of electricity, she was there to light the way thanks to her more-than-old-school lifestyle.
"I suppose I'm a different animal altogether," she says. "I was raised with very little, I need very little and I thank God for what I have. Less is more sometimes."
Gallagher's story raises an interesting question: "What exactly do we need to survive?"
For many of us, electricity and running water can seem like the absolute baseline, yet for this 83-year-old woman, neither is necessary at all. She's totally content with and grateful for her off-the-grid lifestyle. Meanwhile, that same lifestyle saves her tons of money, protects her from power outages, and minimizes her environmental impact.
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No way 😨 We don't necessarily need to forgo electricity and running water entirely to save money and protect the planet. For example, signing up for community solar or washing your clothes in cold water can reduce both your utility bills and your environmental impact.
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And if Margaret Gallagher is an indication, then making small adjustments and sacrifices does not necessarily mean you're losing anything at all.
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