On the outside of the lighthouse.

A small inscribed wooden plaque.

The plaque remembers the D-Day weather report that helped to determine a break in weather on June 6, 1944.

Years of planning for the Allied invasion of Normandy hinged on one unpredictable factor: the weather.  D-Day was originally planned for Monday the 5^th of June, 1944, as air and tidal conditions were seen as conducive to landings by boat and plane.  In a recent interview Sweeneys widow, Maureen Sweeney, recalled that in the morning following her husbands report a call came through to the post office where she worked asking for Ted to repeat his observations.  An hour later, the same caller, a lady with an English accent, asked for the latest weather observations.  Teds hourly reports, coupled with observations from a range of weather stations across Great Britain and Ireland, indicated that a weather system bringing strong winds, low cloud coverage and heavy rain would affect the English Channel on the 5^th of June.  At midday on Sunday the 4^th of June, however, Ted reported a break in the weather with high cloud coverage and good visibility across land and sea.  At a meeting with General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), Stagg advised that this break was sufficient for the invasion to proceed.  According to legend, at the conclusion of the meeting the clouds above Southwick House began to disperse: Ted Sweeneys break in the weather had reached the English Channel.  The D-Day Landings of Tuesday the 6^th of June, 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history, contributed to the Allied victory in the war. 

The plaque was unveiled in 2004 to commemorate the D-Day Weather Forecast sent from Blacksod Lighthouse on 4^th June 1944.

Maureen Sweeney was recognized for her efforts by the US Congress in 2021.

Source: https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/building-of-the-month/blacksod-point-lighthouse-fallmore-td-county-mayo/

D - Day Weather Forecast sent from

Blacksod 4th June 1944

Comhar Deirbhile 2004