In addition to his lighthouse duties, Blacksod’s lightkeeper and Coast Guardsman, Ted Sweeney was charged with the responsibility of delivering weather reports to London every hour. As he diligently reported the barometric readings and high and low pressures, he did not know, nor could have guessed the import of his words on those days in June, 1944.
An historical examination of the meteorological records from those days shows how crucial Ted Sweeney’s June 3rd report was, as conditions required for General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s ‘Operation Overlord’ were very specific. They needed a full moon with a spring tide to land at dawn as a flood tide was half way in. Only a few potential days in which the landing could succeed and June 5th was the date selected.
The largest seaborne invasion in history in which 7,000 ships participated and which was the culmination of years of planning, would have ended differently had they not heard the report from Blacksod. Indeed the forecast was so poor that German Commander Rommel returned to home to Germany to present a pair of shoes to his wife for her birthday where he learned of the stealthy invasion.
Meteorologists for the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Force took readings at a variety of locations, but the final decision to stave off the landings for 24 hours came on foot of the weather readings taken at Blacksod Lighthouse in the west of Ireland.
Built in 1864 by a Belmullet merchant, using local granite, the lighthouse is unusual for being square rather than round which is typical. Only a small conical lamp at the top conforms to the traditional shape. Even today the lighthouse remains distinctively unpainted and though it suffered severe damage from a freak wave in 1989, it was restored and remains occupied. To recall those tense days and nights preceding that fateful day in 1944, one can visit the area and see the lighthouse from sea or land, (but not inside, as it is not open to the public) and imagine the life of Ted Sweeney during those days which altered the course of modern history.