Mayo dismay as Defence Forces withdraw from Blacksod D-Day events
Concerns that Ireland’s status as a neutral nation might be conflicted led to the withdrawal of an Air Corps plane and a Navy patrol vessel from D-Day ceremonies in Blacksod today.
The aircraft was to have done a flypast over Blacksod Lighthouse as the Navy ship L.E. Samuel Beckett stood anchored in the nearby Atlantic while events took place to commemorate local woman Maureen Sweeney,
Fergus Sweeney, one of Maureen and Ted Sweeney’s 11 grandchildren, described the late pull-out of the Defence Forces from the day-long events as “very disappointing."
He added: “We were looking forward to having the aircraft and the ship here. Everything was lined up and advertised. We feel let down. It’s kind of embarrassing."
Mr. Sweeney said he was notified only yesterday that the Defence Forces wouldn’t be participating.
“We also wanted to honour those coastwatchers, members of the Local Defence Forces (LDF) who were responsible for identifying and reporting on shipping and aircraft movements along our coastline during World War Two but that also could not happen.
“But we’ll keep going, we’ll fill the gap and there will be other years”.
Military historian Donal Buckley addressed a large crowd gathered in the carpark of Blacksod Lighthouse on the topic ‘Irish Neutrality -Then and Now”.
He said the Air Corps and the Navy had been ordered ‘not to show’ for the Blacksod event that Ireland “had nothing to do with D-Day”.
On June 4, 1944, Maureen provided a weather report that is credited with changing the course of history.
A native of Co. Kerry, Maureen married lighthouse keeper Ted Sweeney.
Her weather report submitted on June 4, 1944, was enough to convince planners that the D-Day invasion be postponed by 24 hours.
Maureen’s report, which predicted bad weather, was forwarded from the Irish Met Service to the Allied headquarters in southern England. This led to the rescheduling of the landings.
Historians assert that this weather forecast significantly contributed to the success of the mammoth D-Day operation, the largest seaborne military invasion in history.
Some years ago, Maureen, who passed away last December aged 100, was honoured by the U.S. House of Representatives for her small but hugely significant part in World War Two.
She is celebrated as “the woman who saved D-Day."
Highlights of today’s events included displays from Met Éireann, An Post, Military Archives, Irish Lights, and movie props from Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster, “Saving Private Ryan.”
A small collection of World War Two weaponry, including rifles and sub-machine guns, all decommissioned, was also on display for those interested in inspecting them.