Bray Head fire uncovers World War Two 'EIRE' sign
A gorse fire that scorched Bray Head and forced an evacuation of local residents has revealed a World War Two-era sign.
The 'EIRE' sign, made of rocks by Look Out Post volunteers, would've been placed by the coastline during the war to alert bombers that they were flying over neutral territory.
A Garda Air Support Unit crew spotted that the fire on Bray Head has revealed an “EIRE” sign dating from the Second World War.
— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) August 4, 2018
We see these around the coastline but haven’t seen this before. pic.twitter.com/I6cwIrIori
There were no such fully surviving markers on the east coast, but the Garda Air Support Unit has now spotted an 'EIRE' sign uncovered by the blaze.
Fires on Bray Head expose amazing World War 2 landmarks. The fires exposed the old Eire 8 sign,which is in reasonable condition. Photos courtesy of the Garda Air Support Unit, which is a mixed unit operated by Air Corps Pilots and Garda specialists. @gardainfo @opwireland pic.twitter.com/4vvg3HIjQv
— Irish Air Corps (@IrishAirCorps) August 4, 2018
A website dedicated to such markings, eiremearkings.org, says that approximately 85 of these signs were built.
Although most have been destroyed or overgrown over time, 15 have been located along the western coastline. Eight examples are still viewable around Donegal, including at Malin Head.
The Bray Head sign is the latest historical artefact to be uncovered as a result of the summer's heatwave, after the discovery of
