Mayo to host unique international dark sky conference

The stars are aligning in Mayo as Mayo County Council partners with Dark Sky Ireland (DSI) and Friends of Mayo Dark Skies to present the ninth International Artificial Light at Night Conference (ALAN) taking place in the Westport Woods Hotel, from Tuesday, October 28 to Friday, October 31. The partnership reflects Mayo County Council’s current work to produce a first of its kind Light Pollution Policy for Co. Mayo and the ambitions to create a county-wide International Dark Sky Reserve.  

Record numbers are due to attend the biennial ALAN 2025 Conference next week with over 40 countries represented and an unprecedented number of submissions to present at the conference. The transdisciplinary nature of the ALAN conference will bring together researchers and practitioners to Mayo from across the globe all working on various aspects of artificial light at night, and features guest speakers Ulrike Brandi, internationally renowned lighting master planner and Kerem Asfuroglu, the Irish based lighting designer currently commissioned by Mayo County Council to produce the Mayo Light Pollution Policy.  

Dark Sky Ireland Chair, Professor Brian Espey, commented, "We welcome Mayo County Council's support, which will ensure that ALAN 2025 is one of the most successful and well-attended ALAN conferences to date. The knowledge shared by the world's foremost experts will set a precedent for the work that lies ahead for Dark Sky Ireland; to protect and restore Ireland’s nightscapes for all living things.  The local partnership ensures that Mayo's Dark Sky Heritage will continue to be protected into the future while providing positive benefits for its communities."

ALAN 2025 will also host the launch of the European Light Pollution Coalition, responding to the need for better coordination and cooperation of European groups and individuals working towards the responsible use of artificial light at night. Its objective is to increase awareness and understanding for the consequences of Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) and to develop expert-guided, science-based guidelines. This builds on Lighting Europe’s call on EU policymakers to establish a co-ordinated regulatory framework for ALAN that is needed to balance the essential role of ALAN in our lives and the need to protect our environment.

Attendees at ALAN 2025 will get to visit the Gold-tier Mayo International Dark Sky Park, which recently received the prestigious "Dark Sky Place of the Year Award" from DarkSky International and Newport town to experience the dark sky friendly lighting installed there.

"There is so much international interest in what our communities are doing to support dark skies here in Mayo in collaboration with lighting designers like Dark-Source, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to share this at ALAN but also to learn from international best practice from the many prestigious presenters at the Conference”- Georgia MacMillan, Chairperson of Friends of Mayo Dark Skies commented.

Also at the Conference will be a series of international lighting companies who are utilising dark sky friendly principles in their lighting product design and manufacture including Irish Company NuLumenTek and they will be exhibiting their dark sky friendly products.  

ALAN 2025 immediately precedes the Mayo Dark Sky Festival, which has a stellar programme this year featuring music performances, nighttime walks, dark sky walks, astronomy and space talks, as well as a host of other events.  

Full programme details for Mayo Dark Sky Festival are available at https://www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie

The 9th International Artificial Light at Night Conference is presented by Dark Sky Ireland and Friends of Mayo Dark Skies together with the ALAN International Steering Committee.  

Full programme details for ALAN 2025 can be found at www.darksky.ie and www.artificiallightatnight.org. 

This event has been made possible with the support of: 

Mayo County Council, the Heritage Council,  Community Foundation Ireland, Dark Sky International, Leave No Trace, National Parks and Wildlife Services, Fáilte Ireland, Research Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta - GLOW 2.0 Interreg Project.

READ MORE: Mayo landowners may be reminded of their responsibility for maintaining trees and hedges