Category Archives: Counties

EIRE 7 – Dalkey

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Photo: George Griffin

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Photo: George Griffin

Dalkey 7 is now visible as a result of a significant amount of work done by Dalkey Tidy Towns. The restoration jobs of these signs are huge undertakings, and usually involve a massive amount of volunteer effort.

I’m grateful to Dalkey Tidy Towns for these photographs and also some background as to their project. I think they have done a fantastic job.

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In October 2018, a past Dalkey resident contacted Dalkey Tidy Towns, Orla de Cogan. She had an old Irish Air Corps reconnaissance photo of about 1950. They could see the remains of some stone formation buried at Hawk Cliff, just below the Vico Road in Dalkey. They contacted historian, Dr Michael Kennedy. Were these the remains of a long-lost EIRE No.7 sign below the surface?

What followed over a six-month period was the unearthing and lifting and cleaning of an estimated 100 tons of stones laid out in trenches in the precise shape of EIRE. Over 60 volunteers committed 1,692 hrs to the project. Once lifted and cleaned, each stone was replaced and coated with four tons of a special Roadstone Flo Mix to bind the stones together. Carried by hand in rotas of seven wheelbarrows by a further 35 volunteers during a two-day blitz in April, this Flo Mix was brought from the Vico Road down the narrow path to the Hawk Cliff site. Once in place and dried, Sika Ireland Ltd provided 170 litres of high-grade white masonry paint to finish the WW2 restoration. Over a period of one month, 48 volunteers completed the painting. Finally, having earlier removed 8 sacks of litter and household rubbish from this neglected site, DTT rebuilt the old picnic table and benches, landscaped the surroundings for the public to enjoy and planted a wide area with Irish Wildflowers.

Credit: Dalkey Tidy Towns.

I also have some stunning photographs from George Griffin.

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Photo: George Griffin

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Photo: George Griffin

EIRE38 – Dunmore Head – Sign on Great Blasket Island

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The nearest look out post to the Blasket Islands is Dunmore Head which is on the mainland. It was LOP number 38. There wasn’t a LOP on the Great Blasket that I was aware of and most signs were linked with the nearest LOP hence the classification. At the moment, it does not look to me as though the number is intact for this location so I cannot confirm absolutely.

(Bing)

Location on Google is clouded over.

EIRE83 – Foileye Head

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(Google)

(Bing)

EIRE8 – Bray Head

4 Replies

In July 2018, a major fire on Bray Head in Wicklow cleared significant amounts of gorse growth. One of the outcomes of that was that the EIRE sign, which must have been hidden for years, was revealed again. I am grateful to Kate Muldowney and Ray Cranley who were responsible for letting me know the sign had been seen again.

The photographs below are courtesy of Captain Barcow and the Irish Air Corps who have been kind enough to let me post the pictures of the sign.

The appearance of this sign has been the subject of considerable media interest in August 2018 following the release of a number of pictures. The sign in my view, is in remarkably good condition; most of the letters are clearly identifiable – the initial E is perhaps not as healthy, but the frame is still apparent, and the number of the nearby LOP, 8, Bray Head is also reasonably clear. As there is so very little evidence of signs on the east coast, I am really pleased to see one come to light.

Bray Head is listed on the east coast of Ireland on this map.

Site map of Bray 8

I am looking for a photographer credit for this which has wandered around Twitter lately (August 2018)

Update: 13 September: Bray Head has been restored.

EIRE9 Wicklow Head

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Bing Maps

If you look carefully at the base of the tower, you can just see the remains of the R and the E at the end of EIRE.

There is actually an historic aerial photograph of this sign too which the Military Archives have published on their social media/Flickr stream

EIRE74 – Croghy Head

1 Reply

(Conor Corbett)

This sign has recently been restored and I do not have an aerial photograph of it yet. However, I have received a number of photographs of the restored sign, and the work in progress to restore it for which I am very grateful to the three photographers concerned whose names you’ll find under their photographs.

Photograph credit: Rob DIjksman

This sign has also been recently restored by a team including John Bonner.

Photograph Credit: Raymond Sweeney

Via Hugh Boyle I also have this photograph of the work under way:

Photograph credit: Hugh Boyle

EIRE72 – Rossan Point

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Rossan Point, Donegal – Bing aerial photographs

Pending Review: EM06 – Howth Head, Co Dublin

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I have been told that the sign in Howth is located here but completely overgrown. This is an updated location and the map has been updated accordingly. I’ve also been advised that there is some work being done on possibly restoring the sign. I will keep this post updated as and when I learn more.