It may be just a building, but Blacksod Lighthouse
has had a very rich history. It was almost destroyed by what was described as a
freak wave in 1989, but was later restored. Another unusual anecdote occurred
from 1969 to 1972 when the An Post and
Telegraphs gave Ted and Maureen Sweeney permission to operate their post
office from the lighthouse. Not often one can post a letter from a lighthouse.
![Picture](/uploads/3/9/4/5/39454319/8702530_orig.jpg)
Operation
Overlord (6 June 1944)
Operation
Overlord was the code name for the greatest mobilisation of military power in
history. It is said that planning by the Allies for this momentous operation
began immediately after the retreat at Dunkirk, 4 years previously. Despite
meticulous consideration to every possible detail there was one consideration
which could not be predicted, the weather. Weather conditions had to contusive
to the assault on Nazi occupied France. The early days of June 1944 was set as
the best possible time for the landings. High tides, reasonably calm waters and
good moonlight were required for such landings (Hart, 1992). The main parties of
the Allied forces were the American and British. When it came to weather
predicting, they had dichotic views. The British felt the conditions would not
be suitable while the Americans had a more optimistic outlook. The German high
command also shared the British view. Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel (head of the
German defences in France) had returned to Germany assuming that the weather would be too poor for an attack.
Blacksod Lighthouse had been sending daily weather reports to Britain despite Ireland’s neutrality. Few have had a bigger impact on world history than those sent on June 3rd 1944. To highlight their importance Maureen Sweeney was able to relate that the supreme commander of the allied forces General Dwight D. Eisenhower insisted on having the forecast details relayed to him 3 times. This convinced Eisenhower to postpone the landings for 24 hours thus avoiding certain annihilation. Subsequent forecasts gave the allies confidence in proceeding with the landings on June 6th .
Blacksod Lighthouse had been sending daily weather reports to Britain despite Ireland’s neutrality. Few have had a bigger impact on world history than those sent on June 3rd 1944. To highlight their importance Maureen Sweeney was able to relate that the supreme commander of the allied forces General Dwight D. Eisenhower insisted on having the forecast details relayed to him 3 times. This convinced Eisenhower to postpone the landings for 24 hours thus avoiding certain annihilation. Subsequent forecasts gave the allies confidence in proceeding with the landings on June 6th .