Advertisement
Dalkey Locals Uncover And Rest...

News

Dalkey Locals Uncover And Restore World War II Eire Sign

Brendan O'Loughlin
Brendan O'Loughlin

12:44 25 Sep 2019


Share this article


A giant World War II Eire Sign on a cliff in Dalkey has been uncovered and restored to its former glory.

The large white stones were originally put in place to let planes know they were over neutral territory.

Originally constructed as part of the Emergency Powers Act, 1939, the sign was one of a network of nearly 90 across the country.

They were used to warn aircraft that they were flying over a neutral non-combatant country.

A large seven above the Eire sign on Hawk Cliff in Dalkey suggests it was the 7th one to be installed in the country.

eire sign dalkey

It took six months, after finding it, to restore the Dalkey sign to its original glory.

More than 60 volunteers dug-up, cleaned and replaced the stones, before painting them in a light house white paint.

The project was led by Des Burke-Kennedy, from Dalkey Tidy Towns.

He said it was an old black and white photo led locals to the spot where the sign had been covered over.

"We eventually lifted up over 100 tonnes of stones. We cleaned them all, put them all back and finished it with light house paint".

He said locals have managed "to create something better than what was there back in 1942".

A similar Eire sign in Bray was uncovered during the heatwave of 2018, when a wildfire burned away the overgrowth.

Follow @98FM on Twitter for the latest Dublin news


Share this article


You might like