Mayo's D-Day connection comes to the big screen

Castlebar Rotary Club to host special screening of Pressure in aid of Safe Ireland Mayo

Castlebar Rotary Club will host a special premiere screening of the new historical drama Pressure at Mayo Movie World & Leisure Centre, Castlebar, on Wednesday, September 9, with proceeds going primarily to Safe Ireland Mayo – Refuge and Domestic Violence Support Services, as well as other Rotary good causes.

Pressure tells the extraordinary story of the tense days leading up to the D-Day landings in June 1944 and the crucial weather decision facing Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, played by Brendan Fraser, and British meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg, played by Andrew Scott.

For Mayo audiences, the film has a remarkable local connection.

At Blacksod in North Mayo, 21-year-old Maureen Flavin, later Maureen Sweeney, was recording weather observations from the Blacksod weather station.

Her reports identified deteriorating Atlantic weather conditions and formed an important part of the meteorological information available to those advising the Allied commanders.

Stagg ultimately advised Eisenhower that conditions would be unsuitable for the planned invasion on 5 June, 1944.

The decision was taken to postpone D-Day by 24 hours, with the historic landings taking place on June 6,1944.

Castlebar Rotary Club President James Murray said: “Few people realise the extraordinary part that Mayo played in the D-Day story.

"From a small weather station at Blacksod, information was provided that helped influence one of the most significant decisions of the Second World War.

“This makes Pressure a particularly special film for a Mayo audience, and we are delighted that the evening will also support the invaluable work of Safe Ireland Mayo.”

Tickets are available through members of Castlebar Rotary Club, you can also pay at the door on the night.