Had you thought of exploring Ireland’s dark skies?
When you think of Ireland, the island’s dramatic sea cliffs might come to mind. The beauty of its mountains, perhaps. Castles, churches, museums…
Rivers center its cities. Forested hillsides frame vibrant towns. There is another aspect of the beauty of Ireland you may not have remembered, though.
Ireland’s skies at night.
Up along the northern edge of Europe, set in the waters of the North Sea, the north Atlantic Ocean, and the Irish Sea, most of Ireland is well placed for seeing starlight.
The starlight path of the Milky Way, meteor showers, dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis, and the light of the moon both steady and changing have been drawing imaginations of people in Ireland across thousands of years,. They still do.
In Kerry in the southwest of Ireland, archaeologists say that stone circles found there were built to help people follow the movements of the sun, moon, and stars.
It is also thought that some of the inscriptions in their writings in the ancient Ogham script are observations of night skies, stars, and the moon.
It’s fitting then that the Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve, which lies between mountain and sea on the Iveragh Peninsula, has been recognized by the International Dark Sky Association as an International Dark Sky Reserve.
The Kerry Reserve is known for the especial clarity and brilliance in its night skies. When you look up on a clear night, you could see bright constellations, the Milky Way, and shooting stars.
Dark sky reserves come about through the co-operation of land managers who recognize the historical and cultural importance of natural night skies, andthe work of people in local communities.
Set between mountain and sea and along the Wild Atlantic Way, the Kerry Reserve has high sky quality and natural darkness, and commitment from communities nearby to recognize the value of dark skies and starlight.
Peat bogs and stars? As you travel north of Kerry in Ireland’s west, you may expect to see both in the Mayo Dark Sky Park, which includes lands of Wild Nephin National Park.
The land there includes one the largest remaining blanket bogs in Europe. In addition to making the area a haven for many plants which no longer thrive elsewhere, the wet peatland has not been not suitable for farming or other land development.
Makes sense, then, that there are not many built up areas, and that this part of Mayo is a fine place to experience dark skies.
Local folk and those who work for Ireland’s conservation and administrative agencies co-operated on projects which led to Mayo Dark Sky Park being named to Gold Tier standard, the highest recognition by the International Dark Sky Association.
People who live in the region have become intrigued by the importance of their dark sky resource, as an aspect of their communities to enjoy themselves and to offer to visitors.
There is a Dark Sky Festival each November with both scientific and artistic events. Park workers also plan events in connection with nationwide events including Culture Night Ireland and Heritage Week, and they have prepared extensive online resources to help you explore Mayo Dark Sky park online and in person.
Across the border in Northern Ireland, you will find more folk interested in sharing the beauty of Ireland’s starlight and dark sky.
In Davagh Forest in the Sperrin Mountains which lie along the border between Derry and Tyrone, there is the OM Dark Sky Park, the first dark sky park in Northern Ireland.
As the island’s newest dark sky park, OM has included experiences such as projecting films about space on the outside of its observatory, guided tours of the observatory’s exhibition, and chats by resident astronomers. There’s a big telescope, too.
The folk at OM always point out, though, that people have been observing and thinking about night skies in the Davagh Forest for thousands of years. Nearby are the Beaghmore /Bheitheach Mhór stone circles, lines of stones, and cairns.
Archaeology tells us that people lived in the area of the stones from the Neolithic era through the Bronze Age. Were these stones an early observatory, or a way to follow the sun through the seasons?
Maybe. Theories vary. Across Ireland and other Celtic lands, though, such arrangements of stones often have astronomical connections.
Back in the Republic, along the north coast in the far north of Donegal in Inishowen, stars dot the sky and are readily visible in this lightly populated area.
That is true as well of Rathlin Island, to the east of Inishowen off the north coast of Country Antrim in Northern Ireland.
Nearby, the area of Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge has been named a Dark Sky Discovery area in the UK, as has Oxford Island on the shores of Lough Neagh, both in Antrim.
These are several places where dark skies make the possibilities for exploring the beauty of night skies in Ireland especially good. Wherever you are able to step a bit beyond lighted places, though, take the chance to look up, and see what you might see.
Though there are more lights along the water than there there were when I first started spending winter there more than twenty years ago, in the town where I stay in Ireland it is quite possible to walk a few streets along from the water or climb a little way up the mountain and explore dark night sky.
In fact, you might wish to take the chance to look up at the night sky and explore wherever you may find yourself. Traveling or not, a bit of silence and night sky can be a way to refresh your spirit.
That is one of the reasons people across place and time have looked up to the night sky.
Photograph of Beaghmore stones by Robert Ashby
Photographs of moon in night sky over Louth and evening sky over Rostrevor and the Mournes by Kerry Dexter
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