Postmark to honour late Mayo postmistress unveiled

AN Post has unveiled a new postmark to commemorate the young Mayo postmistress whose careful weather measurements in 1944 saved D-Day and the allied forces from attempting to land in stormy conditions with bad visibility.

The late Maureen Sweeney (June 3, 1923 - December 17, 2023), in 1944, had responsibility for taking weather measurements and observations at Blacksod Lighthouse on the Mullet Peninsula in north Mayo.

Her carefully recorded results, which were diligently checked with lighthouse keeper Ted Sweeney, who was later to become her husband, were shared with the Allied Forces.

As a result of Maureen's observations, General Eisenhower gave the command to delay D-Day until June 6, ultimately changing the course of World War II.

Maureen, from Blacksod in Belmullet, died last December in her 101st year.