‘The Weather Girls’ who changed world history from the coast of Mayo

Inspired by true events that went unrecognised for 70 years, a new children’s book by Sarah Webb captures the hidden history of Ireland’s role in the second World War for young readers.

Published by The O’Brien Press, ‘The Weather Girls’ is inspired by the story of Maureen Sweeney who, on the eve of her twenty-first birthday, provided hourly weather reports on a storm front from Blacksod Lighthouse and weather station in County Mayo to the war office in England, which proved crucial to the success of D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history.

A tale of bravery, adventure and friendship for readers aged nine and older, the book was close to completion when Maureen Sweeney passed away last December, aged 100. 

While researching the book, Author Sarah Webb was helped by Maureen’s grandson Fergus, who grew up in the lighthouse and is now head of visitor experience there, to retell his grandmother’s story through the book’s young heroine, 12-year-old, Grace Devine.

Seeing ‘The Emergency’ through Grace’s young eyes, Webb explores how the second World War impacted the small rural community at Blacksod through the rationing of food and fuel, and confronts the question of Ireland’s neutrality head-on when Grace and her friend Sibby risk their lives to save a young German airman who crash lands on the Mayo coast.

Speaking at the launch of the book, Ms Webb hopes ‘The Weather Girls’ will inspire young readers as well as inform them of Ireland’s role in World War Two.

“Maureen’s story might have been written by a Hollywood movie-maker, a young woman in the 1940s who left her home in Kerry to work at a remote weather station in this small community, and ended up changing the course of world history through something as every day as a weather report. What a fantastic story to tell young readers, to inspire them that small actions can not just change the world, but save it,” she said.

Ms Webb continued: “I think it’s important that children learn about Ireland’s experience of The Emergency and consider the complicated feelings many must have had about our neutrality while bombs were dropped on Belfast just up the road. Today, many parents and teachers have to consider how to talk to children about the world’s modern conflicts, but history gives us the perfect way into those conversations. We all learn from stories, and Maureen’s is a story which every child should know.”

Mr Sweeney, who includes his grandmother’s story in his tour for school groups visiting Blacksod Lighthouse, agreed with this: “It is so special to our family that Sarah has captured our granny’s story for children, a story we grew up with. We always knew that our grandparents had played this historic part in the war, but it’s not until you tell it to others that you really see the huge significance of the lives those weather reports saved.”

He added: “Being 24-hours from the French coastline, the Blacksod Lighthouse weather station was perfectly located to inform the Allies’ plans for D-Day. Without those hourly updates on the storm front, the course of history might have run very differently.”

Mr Sweeney explained that on tours, visitors are shown ‘the instruments which Maureen used for those weather reports’, some Ms Webb ‘captures wonderfully in the book’.

“When you think about the technology and equipment used to monitor the weather now, it really does make Maureen’s role all the more inspiring. She was a young woman working in a scientific field, and she was part of something so historic from right here in this small Irish village,” he concluded.

To celebrate the book’s launch, Ms Webb will hold a special reading for children at the newly opened Solas Visitor Centre and Tourist Hub at Blacksod Lighthouse, as well as a series of events in local libraries as part of Mayo County Council’s ‘Mayo Day’ festivities.

‘The Weather Girls’ is available from all good bookshops now.

The Blacksod weather station on Belmullet. From this place Maureen Sweeney compiled her report that helped the Allied offensive for D-Day to go ahead.