Maureen's warning saved D-Day

THE Allies landed 160,000 soldiers on the beaches of Normandy on this day, 81 years ago.

- BY DEREK FOLEY

It's known as D-Day - the largest land, sea and air invasion in military history and a pivotal moment in World War II, on June 6, 1944.

Allied forces - American, Canadian, British and French - landed in Nazi-occupied France.

The landings had been delayed 24 hours as Ireland - officially neutral - had passed on a crucial storm warning from Blacksod Bay lighthouse, near Belmullet, far out west on the Co Mayo coast.

The readings of one young woman, a Kerry-born lighthouse-keeper's wife Maureen Flavin Sweeney, averted potential disaster and saved countless thousands of lives.

Her weather recordings changed the date of D-Day and the course of history.

Little did Flavin Sweeney know, when she left Knockanure to become a postmistress and weather observer on Blacksod, that she would play such a vital role in World War II.

The story begins on June 3 at lam, which was the morning of Maureen's 21st birthday.

At that point, the Blacksod barometer was showing a slight drop in air pressure which, combined with a 7mph south-westerly wind and slight drizzle, was indication of an approaching storm.

It was a routine post, or so she thought.