A GROUP OF friends in Co Limerick have outdone themselves by building Ireland’s tallest snowman so far this year – at a towering 23 feet tall.

The snowman, affectionately named Big Bill, was created over five and a half hours on the local soccer pitch in Elton village, near Kilmallock, during Sunday’s heavy falling of snow.

Paulus, one of the builders, explained to The Journal the effort that went into constructing the giant snowman, saying that Elton had received its heaviest snowfall in years.

He added that building the base of the snowman with his brother Servatius “was the hardest part”.

“We started by rolling six massive snowballs until we physically couldn’t roll them any more,” Paulus said. 

“Once we hit a certain height, we realised we couldn’t really do much more, so I ran home to grab a ladder. From there, we had to toss up mini snowballs and carefully stacked them on top.”

“Eventually, the snow got too heavy and we had to leave it there,” he added. “But it reached about 23 feet, we reckon – not bad, right?”

Paulus noted that the true height of Big Bill didn’t quite come across in photos, adding that the snowman’s head fell off later that night.

“The pictures don’t do it justice! If you look at the side of the snowman, you can see it was leaning back, which made it look shorter than it really was.”

A photo of Big Bill taken shortly after construction. Josef Servaas Josef Servaas

In typical fashion, Big Bill’s eyes were made from lumps of coal, and his buttons were made from sods of turf.

Given the size of the snowman, the men used a king-sized duvet cover for his scarf, and a traffic cone for his nose.

The inspiration to build the colossal snowy creation came after the heavy snowfall on Sunday reminded Paulus and his brother of a similar snowman they built during the Beast from the East snowstorm in 2018.

“Back then, we made an 18-foot snowman and called him Andre,” Paulus said.

“So when the snow started falling again this year, my brother and I looked at each other and thought, ‘Shall we have a go at Andre 2.0, but bigger?’ I texted a couple of lads, and before we knew it, we had Big Bill.”

As for the name, it came about somewhat spontaneously.

“When we were building it, my brother just said, ‘What about Bill?’ I liked it – short and simple,” Paulus explained. “Later, I found out he named it Bill after a teacher and friend he works with.”

The Limerick men pictured putting the finishing touches on Big Bill. Shona Ryan Shona Ryan

The snowman’s creation provided a welcome distraction to Paulus and his brother, who he said were “bored indoors” at the time.

“We’re from a very big family, I’m the youngest of 12 children, so we’re always outside,” Paulus added.

“The power hadn’t gone yet, but we were getting a bit tired of sitting indoors, and with the Andre the snowman in our minds as we looked out at the snow, we thought we’d go for something bigger this time.”

Paulus said that he was proud of his group of friends, adding that the late arrivals “were a huge help”.

If the others didn’t turn up, it would have been dark before we finished! Thanks to the hard work he’s still there now, our Big Bill.”

Big Bill has since become a local landmark in the small village, as he remains standing two days after his construction – still without a head.