D-Day: The Irish postmistress’s weather report that helped Allied forces avert disaster
“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.
It was Maureen’s 21st birthday when she sent the weather report on 3 June
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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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.
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.
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’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.
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.
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 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.
Metropolitan Police is to stop investigating “non-crime hate incidents” to “reduce ambiguity” after prosecutors dropped a case against Graham Linehan.
Linehan, 57, will face no further action after being arrested over his social media posts about transgender people.
The Father Ted and IT Crowd creator said his lawyers had been told the case wouldn’t proceed. The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed the move.
Linehan, 57, was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence when he landed at Heathrow from his home in the US on 1 September.
The incident drew criticism of the police and government from some politicians and free-speech campaigners.
Met Police said today it would stop investigating “non-crime hate incidents” to “reduce ambiguity” and “provide clearer direction for officers”.
Posting on X, Linehan announced : “After a successful hearing to get my bail conditions lifted (one which the police officer in charge of the case didn’t even bother to attend) the Crown Prosecution Service has dropped the case.
“With the aid of the Free Speech Union, I still aim to hold the police accountable for what is only the latest attempt to silence and suppress gender critical voices on behalf of dangerous and disturbed men.”
The union said it had hired a “top flight team of lawyers to sue the Met for wrongful arrest, among other things”.
“The police need to be taught a lesson that they cannot allow themselves to be continually manipulated by woke activists,” it added.
A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson confirmed it had reviewed the case file and decided “no further action” would be taken.
Linehan said he had to be taken to hospital on the day of his arrest. Pic: PA
In one of his posts, Linehan wrote: “If a trans-identified male is in a female-only space, he is committing a violent, abusive act. Make a scene, call the cops and if all else fails, punch him in the balls.”
Another was a photo of a trans-rights protest, with the comment “a photo you can smell”, and a follow-up post saying: “I hate them. Misogynists and homophobes. F*** em”.
A Met Police statement after the case was dropped acknowledged “concern” around Linehan’s arrest.
It added: “The commissioner has been clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position.
“As a result, the Met will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents.
“We believe this will provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations.”
Linehan said on his blog that he was arrested by five armed officers and had to go to A&E after his blood pressure reached “stroke territory” during his interrogation.
Police said the officers’ guns were never drawn and were only present as Linehan was detained by the aviation unit, which routinely carries firearms.
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JK Rowling, who’s regularly shared her views on women’s rights in relation to transgender rights, was among those who had criticised the arrest, calling it “utterly deplorable”.
Reform’s Nigel Farage, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick, and ex-foreign secretary Sir James Cleverly also hit out at the treatment of Linehan.
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The son of former England footballer Stuart Pearce has died in a crash, his family has said.
Harley Pearce, from Marlborough in Wiltshire, was driving a tractor near Witcombe, Gloucestershire, on Thursday, when he was involved in a collision, police said.
The 21-year-old farming worker died at the scene, on the A417 Old Birdlip Hill in Witcombe, around five miles from Gloucester.
No other vehicles were involved, Gloucestershire Constabulary said. Emergency services were called to the scene of the incident at about 2.30pm on October 16.
Stuart Pearce at last year’s FA Cup Final at Wembley. Pic: PA
Harley Pearce was 21 and worked in farming, according to reports.
‘Our shining star’
In a tribute posted on Facebook, Harley sister, Chelsea Pearce, said the family was “truly shocked and utterly heartbroken at the loss of our cherished son and devoted brother, Harley”.
He was, the family said, was a soul “who left an unforgettable imprint on all who knew him”.
“He was a golden boy with an infectious smile, and this shocking tragedy will leave a huge hole in the hearts of those who were fortunate enough to have known him.”
He had “a quiet, understated strength and deep kindness”.
The family said they were “so proud of the young man he had become, exhibiting a wonderful work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit in the farming industry.
“He will always be our shining star. Rest in Peace, our beautiful son and brother. You will never, ever be forgotten.”
What have police said?
Harley ran his own company, Harley Pearce Agricultural Service, talkSPORT said.
Gloucestershire Constabulary said on Thursday: “The driver of the tractor, a man in his 20s and from Wiltshire, was pronounced dead at the scene.
“His next of kin are aware and being supported by specially trained officers.”
The force is appealing for any witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to contact them.
‘Tragic news’
Harley’s father, Stuart Pearce, played 78 times for England and was part of the Three Lions squads which reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96, the FA said on its website.
He was later the head coach of the England Under-21s.
During a long club career, he made more than 400 appearances for Nottingham Forest, many of them as captain, during a 12-year spell at the City Ground.
He later managed the club, as well as another former club, Manchester City.
Pearce currently works as a pundit on talkSPORT, which said on its website that Harley and Chelsea were the two children he had with his ex-wife Liz.
Presenter Jim White said during a broadcast on Monday that “everybody here on this show and at talkSPORT sends our heartfelt condolences to the family of Stuart Pearce after that tragic news we’ve just heard”.
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Several of the clubs he played for posted tributes on X, including Forest, who said they were “deeply saddened”.
The club said: “The thoughts of everyone connected with Nottingham Forest are with Stuart and his family at this truly difficult time.”
West Ham United said: “We are saddened to hear of Harley Pearce’s passing.
“Everyone at the Club sends their deepest condolences to Stuart and his family at this tragic time.”
Manchester City said: “Everyone at Manchester City sends their love and thoughts to Stuart and his family at this very difficult time.”
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