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IF EVER YOU’VE visited (or flown over) Malin Head, Co Donegal, you may have spotted ‘Eire 80′ etched on the ground in white stone.
More than just a decoration or a patriotic landmark, the sign held an important role during World War II, telling pilots which country they were flying over.
In 1942, as the war raged on, a number of ‘Eire signs’, as they were called, were placed along the Irish coast to tell pilots where they were.
“Today we take technology navigational aids like GPS for granted, but in the early days the pilots relied on the navigator skills,” explains Peter Homer of MalinHead.net.
The signs meant pilots could “identify the land below the flying aircraft as Eire, and not, for example, Northern Ireland or Great Britain.”
Malin Head was also one of 83 lookout points (LOPs) set up along the coast from Louth to Donegal following the commencement of the war in September 1939 – hence the number ’80′ on the stone sign.
A coastal watch had been set up at that time to guard against the invasion of Ireland, a neutral country, explains Homer:
A team of men carried out watch duties over the sea from these sites. Each site was numbered from one through 82, with number 1 being located in Ballagan Point, Co Louth and number 82 on Inishowen Head, Co Donegal. The only odd one was number 83, which was located at Foileye Head, Co Kerry and seemed to be out of sequence.
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Shortly after the Eire signs were constructed, the identifying number of the lookout point was added, enhancing the sign’s value as a navigational aid:
A list of LOPs, their locations and numbers were given to Allied pilots thus allowing themselves to reduce the risk of landing in the Republic of Ireland and also giving them greater detail on where they were.
The letters and numbers were made using local rock and cemented into place before they were whitewashed.
By 2015, the Eire 80 sign had begun to slowly fade away and the surrounding area was destroyed by visitors using stones to write their name on the land.
As a result, Malin Head Community Association organised for the landmark to be restored to its former glory.
Nowadays, eight of the Eire signs remain on headlands in Donegal. There are three on the Inishowen Peninsula, at Glengad Head, Inishowen Head and Malin Head, although the Eire 80 sign is the most well-known.
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This is a loophole that will never be filled in otherwise Lowry, Ahern and the extended Haughy family would be doing 10-15 for fraud.
@Trevor Hayden: Well the Gardai can investigate. It’s just that exTDs arent beholden to the watchdog. Fraud is fraud and can be investigated upon leaving office, regardless of the Journal or RTE say.
@Good Early: I’m sure Maurice McCabe would say different or could tell us a story or two about how politicians are treated by An Garda Siochana.
“Id imagine the line” Do you know who I am? ” has been rattled of a few times or” I’m close personal friends with Frances Fitzgerald ” in order to sweep their discrepancies under the carpet.
” You’ll be signing on in your local dole office on Monday ” I’ve had a few run ins with various politicians, you get used to their spiel.
@Trevor Hayden: haven’t mccabes allegations been found false
@Shawn O’Ceallaghan: Yes they have, he’s been set up. Procing you could not trust the authorities to take an issue regarding a politician seriously.
The untouchables!
We need a major clean out in the Dáil
@Genius 80s+: the electorate can do that with pen in the election booth, but the sword does sound more appealing
@Genius 80s+: with petrol and a rag
If they can hide their expenses paid by public money, anyone expecting them to fix this issue and bring meaningful accountability is living on another planet.
Useful and well orchestrate loop hole by the white collar criminals.
Our politics needs total reform. Our politicians are nothing more than conmen in suits.
How convenient
FFG will be mad to fix this ;-)
So how does this loophole explain why Heather Humphreys was never sanctioned over the outrageous John McNulty Seanad seat scandal, something Enda Kenny admitted happened during a live TV debate during the 2016 election. Or why Denis Naughten has avoided any responsibly for breaking ethics laws by passing on privileged information to an INM lobbyist, Eoghan Ó Neachtain. Who then passed it on to a FG financial donor and owner of Ireland media.
Our the Standards in Public Office will wasted time sanction a independent TD over his shirt colour and hipster dress style. The register of member interests is a joke with every few councillors even filling one in and those in the dail and seanad hiding their interests in wife/partners or children’s names.
Don’t blame a loophole for the state of Irish politics as no politician is accountable judging by the fact that Michael Lowry in back in government after topping the poll again. Even our justice system after a jury found him guilty decided that he had suffered enough. Don’t see the DPP appealing the leniency for fraud.
There is no standards, there are no ethics because no government would last three months. Its a cesspit built by haughty, filled by bertie and kept going by both Enda Kenny and Leo. Power corrupts and it has cost lives in our health service and undermined our constitution. we are all victims but too self involved in our own self interest to do anything about it.
@leartius: we live in a first world banana republic, its a joke and we vote for it every election they are laughing at us…..pure mugs we are.
Fix it
Anyone know of any politicians who have a daughter who would be interested in getting married to my son. He needs a house because he has been turned down for a morgtage again. Was told to rent & save for a yr or so. Then come back. He has saved the deposit but getting nowhere with the banks regarding the morgtage. So I think a politician’s daughter or niece, some relation will do as his wife until he gets his morgtage sorted out.
@bings: All the best…and hope things work out regarding mortgage
Its called covering your arse, what else would you expect from these crooks?
Mc Mafia wouldn’t of been so clever to have this covering there shenanigans !
Read about some of our TD being millionaires,The likes of Kenny Noonan and Howlin were top of the list.
With Kenny worth something around the 4 million Mark,Imagine if these buckos stayed on as teachers there is no way they would be millionaires.
Loose language… not all members of our Seanad are politicians.
How convenient but then again we let this happen all the time im sad to say..
The standards in public office will never improve with the current shower of gombeen politicians in there. Saw on Wikipedia the other day, Charlie Flanagan’s father, Oliver Flanagan, described as ” one of the cutest of cute hoors in the history of the dail”. I’d say the dail is full of idiots with no ability but trying their best to be “cute hoors”!
how many have off shore nest eggs
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