Eibhlin O'Neill's blog

In June 2016 four anglers, Stephen Murphy, Kieran Mahar, William Gregory and David Johnston, found the remains of a prehistoric logboat in the River Boyne (An Bhóinn) in Ireland. A sample of the wood has now been radiocarbon dated to between 3,300-2,900BC.  This coincides with the construction of the Neolithic passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne including Knowth, Dowth and Newgrange in the Boyne Valley through which the river flows. The remains of the logboat consist of a 3m length of wood, which would have formed the base of the boat.

The Irish Aviation Authority is investigating sightings of bright lights and UFO's seen over the coast of south-west Ireland. They were reported by a number of pilots of commercial aircraft while in contact with Shannon Air Traffic Control last Friday. A British Airways pilot spotted bright lights moving past her plane. The fast moving, very bright object was seen to disappear at very high speed. Air traffic control confirmed to the pilot that there was no military exercises taking place in the area at the time.

Immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War, a General Election was announced in the so-called United Kingdom. On 14 November it was announced that Parliament would dissolve on 25 November, with elections on 14 December. The Irish General Election of 1918 was that part of the 1918 general election which took place in Ireland. In 1918 the whole of Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and was represented in the British Parliament by 105 MPs. It is was significant moment in modern Irish history.

Hook Lighthouse (Irish: Teach Solais Rinn Duáin) was recently voted as one of the top ten places to visit in Ireland. It is one of the two oldest operational lighthouse in the world (the other being the Tower of Hercules in Corunna, Galicia). The existing tower is thought to date from the 12th century. However, tradition states that a monk named Dubhán established a monastery on the Hook Peninsula (Rinn Duáin) in the 5th century. It is thought that the monks from Dubhán’s monastery erected the first fire beacon to warn seafarers of the nearby dangerous rocks.

The result of Presidential Election in Ireland has seen Michael D Higgins elected on the first count to serve a second term in Áras an Uachtaráin. In what has been described as the most lacklustre presidential contest for many years, the incumbent, Michael D Higgins, victory came as little surprise. However, the increase in support for Peter Casey, from a low point in the pre-election opinion polls, to second place with 23.3% of first preference votes surprised many.

Commemorations were held today in both Ireland and Wales to mark the centenary of the sinking of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company ship RMS Leinster. It resulted in the deaths of 564 people in the single-largest loss of life on the Irish Sea. The RMS Leinster had just set sail on 10th October 2018 from Dún Laoghaire in Ireland and was bound for Holyhead (Caergybi) in Wales, when it was sunk by a German U-boat in the closing weeks of World War I. 

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Duke Street civil rights march in Derry. Images of the Royal Ulster Constabulary brutally attacking unarmed demonstrators on 5 October 1968  were sent around the world. The true nature of the British colony in  the north-east of Ireland was exposed to a worldwide audience. The attacks on the Northern Ireland civil rights movement before and subsequent to the march on 5th October, resulted in a shift in peoples attitude.

As a man walked along the seashore at Cluais Mhór, in west Kerry Ireland in 2016, he found an object glistening amongst the stones. It turned out to be an 800 year old gold brooch, with a small semi-precious blue tourmaline stone, a dagger-like pin and inscribed with Gothic lettering. He subsequently reported the find to the National Museum of Ireland.

Ireland has formally joined one of the world's top international astronomy organisations, the European Southern Observatory (ESO). ESO's main mission, laid down in the 1962 Convention, is to provide state-of-the-art research facilities to astronomers and astrophysicists, allowing them to conduct front-line science in the best conditions. It is supported by Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile.

Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has made it clear that Ireland is committed to recognising a Palestinian state as part of a peace process. However, if negotiations between Palestine and Israel continue to prove fruitless “we may have to forget the second part of that.” He suggested that other European countries could do the same. His comments were during a joint press conference with Palestinian National Authority foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki. The Palestinian delegation visiting the Irish capital of Dublin this weekend, included the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.