Tag Archives: D Day

CONNECTIONS between Mountshannon and the United States were instrumental in honouring a woman who played a central role in the success of the Allies in World War II. On Saturday last, Maureen Sweeney, who was a post office attendant at Blacksod lighthouse and post office in North Mayo, received a commemorative medal from the US House of Representatives for ‘laudable actions’ during the war. Producing hourly forecasts was a routine part of the Maureen’s duties in the post office, but the one that issued at 1am on June 3, 1944, changed the course of history. Maureen, who had just turned 21 that day, issued the fateful forecast predicting an impending Atlantic storm. The dispatch prompted General Dwight D Eisenhower to delay the planned invasion of Normandy. Maureen’s role was marked after a long process that began with a chance meeting in Mountshannon. Holidaying in Mountshannon, John J Kelly, an Irish-American, who led the design and production of modern lunar landing …

Commemorations have taken place all over Europe this year, marking the centenary of the beginning of World War I. The Great War raged for more than four years, ending on November 11, 1918. On Tuesday, the anniversary of Armistice Day, Irish soldiers were remembered in South Galway. Commemorative badges, manufactured and designed by students in Gort Community School, were distributed at a ceremony of remembrance, as students and staff recalled the forgotten Irish volunteers. Young people in fourth year conducted a project with the goal of remembering the 150,000 Irish who fought in the war. Their project was cross-curricular taking in a number of subjects and departments. “As part of the project, they looked for a symbol to represent the volunteers but the only symbol they came across was the poppy. Many of the class were unhappy to use the poppy, as they felt they wanted to have something original that would remember just the Irish,” explained history teacher and …