HOWTH ÉIRE 6 Restoration Group
Meitheal Athchóirithe Éire 6 Binn Éadair
PR ANNOUNCEMENT.
THE RESTORATION OF HOWTH EIRE-6 WARTIME SIGN APPROVED
The Howth EIRE-6 Restoration Group is delighted to announce that, following a lengthy process, our application to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to restore the wartime aerial recognition sign on Howth’s East Mountain – the “EIRE-6” sign – has been approved.
This sign is one of a series of similar numbered signs which were installed around the Irish coast on the instruction of the Irish Government by the Coastal Watch Service in 1943 as a measure to warn aircraft of the belligerent powers of WW2 that they were nearing the territory of Neutral Ireland. It was constructed by the small Coastal Watch garrison stationed at a Look-Out Post located where the Summit carpark is now situated. The group was commanded by local volunteer, Corporal Seán Rorke, whose small farm was located nearby. Rorke was a well known and respected local community leader, having served with the Irish Volunteers in the War of Independence of 1919-21 and achieving fame as a Beann Éadair and Dublin All-Ireland football player in the 1920s.
The letters of the sign are constructed of stone, laid out on the mountainside, each letter 12m high, but have been buried and overgrown since the 1940s. Work has commenced with careful removal of the gorse currently covering the lettering and the sign will be fully recovered and painted white as the original was. This work is being carried out under the supervision of a professional ecologist to ensure no damage is done to the protected heathland at the site.
The EIRE-6 Restoration Group would welcome voluntary assistance with its work over the coming months, once Covid regulations enable us proceed. We will also require financial assistance to cover costs arising for the various aspects of the work, such as producing professional signage, ecological supervision, materials and tools etc. If you are interested in volunteering, media, or contributing to our funds, please contact us, or donate here.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/eire-6-restoration
email [email protected]
0852555258
