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“Please check, please repeat.” A frantic telephone call from a woman with a cut-glass English accent took Maureen Sweeney by surprise.

A short time earlier, the Irish postmistress had filed her hourly weather report: “Force six wind and a rapidly falling barometer.”

It was her 21st birthday but she and her soon-to-be husband Ted, keepers of the Blacksod Lighthouse, had their job to do.

Their son Vincent recalls: “My mother said, ‘oh my God, were my readings wrong?'” They were not wrong, but they had caused alarm for those planning the imminent D-Day landings.

Some 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft had transported 156,000 Allied troops in readiness for the beachfront offensive at Normandy.

Maureen, Blacksod Lighthouse
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It was Maureen’s 21st birthday when she sent the weather report on 3 June

Pic: AP
FILE - This is the scene along a section of Omaha Beach in June 1944, during Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion at the Normandy coast in France during World War II. The D-Day invasion that helped change the course of World War II was unprecedented in scale and audacity. Veterans and world dignitaries are commemorating the 79th anniversary of the operation. (AP Photo, File)
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The scene at Omaha Beach in Normandy during the Allied invasion on D-Day. Pic: AP

But there was one thing UK, US and Canadian commanders had no control over – the weather on 5 June, the date they had earmarked for invasion.

It is small and unremarkable in appearance, but the lighthouse at Blacksod Point in County Mayo was about to claim its place in history.

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Maureen and Ted
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Ted and Maureen Sweeney played a critical role in the success of the D-Day landings

Situated on the western edge of Europe, flanked by a pretty fishing village, immaculate beaches and the neighbouring Achill Island, it surveys the vast Atlantic Ocean.

Vincent, who is the current lighthouse attendant, explains: “We have the first gaze into the Atlantic.

Weather forecast Blacksod
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Maureen’s report persuaded officials to postpone the landings by a day

“Any weather that is coming in will come in over us.

“But this depression, with northwest winds, was coming in directly over Blacksod, down through the UK and into the Channel.

“That would have hit Normandy in about five hours, so it was critical.”

Despite Ireland’s neutrality during the Second World War, it continued to supply weather forecasts to Britain under an agreement in place since independence.

Maureen never imagined for a moment that the fate of tens of thousands of Allied troops hung on her readings.

Vincent, Blacksod
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Maureen and Ted’s son, Vincent, is the lighthouse attendant today

Her report on 3 June indicated a cold front lying halfway across Ireland and moving rapidly south-eastwards, towards Normandy.

Had the plan gone ahead, Allied troops would have faced catastrophe, trying to steer boats through rough water and scramble on to the beach in driving rain.

Maureen’s weather warning, checked and double-checked by Ted, persuaded those in charge to postpone by a day.

In the early hours of 5 June, at General Eisenhower’s morning briefing, another report from Blacksod confirmed that the cold front had passed.

A loud cheer went up in the room, the long-awaited weather clearance had arrived and he gave the order for Operation Overlord to proceed.

Maureen House of Reps medal
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Maureen’s efforts were recognised with a medal by the US House of Representatives

Shortly before her death last year aged 100, Maureen recalled those three days in June 1944.

“Eisenhower was making up his mind… but when he saw the report from Blacksod, it confirmed that he was right, and he went ahead then,” she said.

It was more than a decade after D-Day, when weather forecasting arrangements changed, before Maureen and Ted learned the critical role they had played.

Vincent explained: “They had a fair idea that there might be something up because the weather went in every hour on the hour and then came the call to please check, please repeat.

“But it was 1956, when the weather station moved from Blacksod, when an official came to assist with the relocation.

Lighthouse
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Maureen discovered how key she had been to D-Day more than a decade later

“He said, ‘by the way Ted and Maureen, do you realise the significance of the weather forecasts you sent on the 3, 4 and 5 June 1944?’

“‘I can tell you now that those forecasts were the decisive factor before Operation Overlord could proceed’.”

Observations were taken at various locations by Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and United States Army and Air Force meteorologists.

But the forecast from the Irish Meteorological Service, based on readings from Blacksod on Mayo’s Mullet Peninsula, proved crucial.

Congressional record for Maureen
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A certificate praising Maureen’s efforts

Had Maureen not accurately read the signs, the D-Day campaign, the turning point of the Second World War, would almost certainly have ended in failure.

The US House of Representatives acknowledged her contribution with a medal and certificate recognising her “laudable actions” for perpetuity.

Her grandson Fergus Sweeney, a tour guide at the lighthouse, says his grandmother saved the most ambitious invasion in history from disaster.

“It would certainly be a different world today. You can imagine what would have happened to the allies had they gone during the bad weather.

Fergus, Blacksod
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Fergus believes it ‘would certainly be a different world today’ without Blacksod

“The invasion would have been a disaster… but of course, that would have changed the world we live in.

“The world we live in today is dictated by what happened at the end of the Second World War and so everything that we know now would be vastly different,” he said.

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Blacksod Lighthouse remains a vital landmark for passing seafarers and is now a refuelling station for search and rescue helicopters.

The keepers of the light here are still saving lives 80 years on.

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Three men jailed for plotting to murder £54m Securitas robber Paul Allen

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Three men jailed for plotting to murder £54m Securitas robber Paul Allen

Three men have been jailed for a combined total of 99 years for plotting to murder a member of a gang that carried out Britain’s biggest-ever cash robbery.

Paul Allen, 46, was shot twice as he stood in his kitchen in Woodford, east London, on 11 July 2019.

He was a member of the Securitas heist gang that stole £54m from a cash depot in Tonbridge, Kent, in 2006.

The former cage fighter was living in a large detached rented house with his partner and three young children after being released from an 18-year prison sentence over the raid.

The attack at his home has left him paralysed from the chest down.

Louis Ahearne, 36, Stewart Ahearne, 46, and Daniel Kelly, 46, denied conspiring to murder Allen but were found guilty last month following a trial at the Old Bailey.

The trio were sentenced at the Old Bailey in central London on Friday.

Kelly was sentenced to 36 years in prison and an extra five years on licence, Louis Ahearne was jailed for 33 years, and his sibling Stewart Ahearne – 30 years.

Damage to the kitchen door.
Pic: Met Police/PA
Image:
Damage to the kitchen door. Pic: Met Police/PA

A bullet casing found in the back garden. Pic: Met Police
Image:
A bullet casing found in the back garden. Pic: Met Police

Prosecutors did not give a motive for the murder plot, though they described the victim as a “sophisticated” career criminal.

Detectives said the shooting could seem like “the plot [of] a Hollywood blockbuster” but added it was actually “horrific criminality” from “hardened organised criminals”.

In her sentencing remarks, the judge said she believed the trio “were motivated by a promise of financial gain”.

Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC said: “I have no doubt that this agreement to murder Paul Allen involved other people apart from the three of you and that you three were motivated by a promise of financial gain.

“The culpability of each one of you is very high.

“The harm caused to the victim was very serious – indeed, short of killing him it could hardly be more serious. He is currently paralysed and relies on others for every single need.”

The shooting was just the latest act in a long list of criminal deeds. The day before, Kelly and Louise Ahearne used a rented car to carry out a burglary in Kent, accessing the gated community by pretending to be police officers.

A month before that, the trio had stolen more than $3.5m (£2.78m) worth of Ming dynasty antiques from the Museum of Far Eastern Arts in Geneva, for which the Ahearne brothers had been jailed in Switzerland.

Kelly is also wanted in Japan over the robbery of a Tokyo jewellery store in 2015 in which a security guard was punched in the face.

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Claire Chick: Paul Butler jailed for life for murdering Plymouth university lecturer

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Claire Chick: Paul Butler jailed for life for murdering Plymouth university lecturer

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of university lecturer Claire Chick.

Paul Butler was sentenced to a minimum term of 27 years for killing his estranged wife after a six-month campaign of stalking and harassment when he refused to accept their relationship was over.

Ms Chick, 48, was found seriously injured on West Hoe Road in Plymouth just before 9pm on 22 January. She was taken to hospital, but died the next day.

Previously known as Claire Butler, Ms Chick worked at the University of Plymouth.

Paul Antony Butler.
Pic: Devon & Cornwall Police
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Paul Butler has been jailed for murder. Pic: Devon & Cornwall Police


She died after a frenzied attack outside her home – the attack a culmination of months of harassment, stalking and violence at the hands of Butler.

Following her death, Devon and Cornwall Police made a referral to the police watchdog due to previous contact prior to her death.

Jo Martin KC, prosecuting, said Ms Chick had made six statements to the police about Butler and he had been arrested three times.

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In her final statement to police the day before he killed her outside her own home, she said: “I only feel that Butler will kill me if further action is not taken. I am in fear of leaving my house.”

Butler was arrested around 20 miles away in the Liskeard area on 24 January.

He was sentenced on Friday at Plymouth Crown Court, having previously pleaded guilty to murder, and to one charge of possession of a bladed article.

‘I loved Claire’

The family of Ms Chick told the court how her murder left a “huge void” in their lives.

Her eldest daughter, Bethany Hancock-Baxter, described Butler as “evil”.

She said: “I want this evil man to listen to me. I want you to know what you have done to us as a family.

“Despite all the hate I have for you, I cannot bring myself to do what you did to my mum – that’s because I am not evil like you.”

Her sister, Lydia Peers, said Butler was a “parasite”.

After her short-lived marriage to Butler, Ms Chick began a relationship with another man, Paul Maxwell.

Mr Maxwell spoke from the witness box and repeatedly stared at the defendant as he spoke. Butler stared back at him.

“I loved Claire. She was beautiful, funny and kind,” Mr Maxwell said.

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Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is ‘intimidating’

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Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is 'intimidating'

The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has told Sky News it’s “intimidating” to be one of those responsible for choosing the next pope.

Vincent Nichols is among four UK cardinals in Rome for the Pope’s funeral on Saturday.

Following the funeral, and after nine days of mourning, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast their votes, with white smoke announcing to the world when a new pope has been elected.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols with Anna Botting
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Cardinal Vincent Nichols speaks to Sky’s Anna Botting

Cardinal Nichols told Sky’s Anna Botting: “I hope nobody goes into this conclave, as it were, with the sole purpose of wanting to win. I think it’s very important that we go in wanting to listen to each other… It has to be together, trying to sense what God wants next. Not just for the church.”

He described the procession that took Pope Francis to lie in state as “the most moving thing I’ve ever attended here”.

Describing the Pope as a “master of the gesture and the phrase”, he also recalled the pontiff’s last journey away from the Vatican.

Cardinal Nichols said Pope Francis had visited the Regina Coeli prison, telling the inmates: “You know, except for the grace of God, it could well have been me … Don’t lose hope, God has you written in his heart.”

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‘Pope touched the hearts of millions’

The Pope later told his doctor his last regret was not being able to wash the feet of the prisoners during that visit.

Becoming emotional, he also said the final message he would like to have given Pope Francis is “thank you”.

The 88-year-old died peacefully on Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed.

Heads of state – including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron – have all confirmed their attendance at his funeral, which takes place on Saturday at St Peter’s Square.

Prince William will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.

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Where will Pope Francis be buried?

Talking about the seating plan at the funeral, Cardinal Nichols said he understood it to be “royalty first, then heads of state, then political leaders”.

Worldwide geopolitical tensions mean that many eyes will be on interactions between heads of state at the event, with particular focus on Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy following their tense meeting at the Oval Office in February.

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Pope’s cause of death confirmed .

Looking back at the last papal funeral, Cardinal Nichols described the seating of the then Prince Charles one seat away from Zimbabwean present Robert Mugabe as “obviously a little bit tense”.

Cardinal Nichols explained event would be “exactly the same Catholic rite as everyone else – just on a grander scale”.

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3D map shows pope’s funeral route

In a break from tradition, Pope Francis will be the first pope in a century to be interred outside the Vatican – and will instead be laid to rest at his favourite church, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood.

He will also be buried in just one simple wooden coffin, instead of the traditional three coffins which are usually used for pontiffs.

Born in Crosby near Liverpool, Cardinal Vincent Nichols hoped to be a lorry driver as a child – but as a teenager reportedly felt the calling to join the priesthood while watching Liverpool FC.

As cardinal, he is known for leading the church’s work tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, for which he received the UN Path to Peace Award.

He was criticised by the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which said he “demonstrated a lack of understanding” of the impact of abuse and “seemingly put the reputation of the church first”.

Cardinal Nichols, responding to the findings, previously told Sky News he was “ashamed at what has happened in the context of the Catholic Church” and promised to improve the church’s response.

He has appeared to rule himself out of the running for pope, telling reporters he was “too old, not capable”.

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