Sun refuses to show up for Newport's eclipse party

As the light around Newport suddenly dimmed, the birds squawked and came home to roost, the automated street lights came on hours ahead of schedule as did the automatic headlights on cars while there was a slight drop in temperature in the air around west Mayo.

Everything that the experts predicted would happen came true in the 2026 solar eclipse but there was one thing which was conspicuous by its absence...the sun.

Like the diva who refuses to attend their own party, the sun remained hidden behind thick clouds in the west Mayo sky and refused to come out and entertain the large crowd who came out on the historic Newport viaduct to witness its eclipse.

No matter how hard people tilted their heads or squinted their eyes, the sun remained hidden around the totality of the eclipse and for the majority they got no glimpse of the historic solar eclipse.

“It is a bit of an exercise in optimism being an astronomer in this country,” admitted Peter Nugent, the Chair of Newport Astronomy Club who helped organise the gathering on the viaduct.

Despite the cloud cover, Peter was not too disheartened by the whole experience.

“We are getting brief glimpses through the clouds and there is a great atmosphere and people are enjoying it.

“It is a once in a lifetime event in astronomy but you realise the vast majority in Ireland involve clouds and it is part of the process for Irish astronomy. It is lovely to have the community out here and enjoying it and taking in something they would not have done otherwise and gets people tuned in. It is nice to see people doing something a bit different and unique,” he said.

West Mayo was considered to be one of the best places to witness the solar eclipse with a covering of 96 percent predicted as the eclipse made its way down the Atlantic from Iceland to Spain.

The crowds ranging in age from young children to pensioners started to gather on the viaduct before 6pm where Peter and other members of the Astronomy Club were explaining to people what to expect. Peter admitted vastly underestimating the demand for solar glasses and warned people not to look directly at the sun.

Those who were not lucky enough to get hold of scarce solar glasses opted for homemade pinhole projectors made from cereal boxes while others raided their kitchen for their colanders.

Seven year old Caoimhín Ó Dochartaigh and his four-year-old sister Willow from Castlebar had brought their homemade pinhole projectors to Newport along with their parents Criostóir and Michelle.

“We did not get the glasses so we had to make our own,” laughed Michelle who admitted that herself and Criostóir were a bit more excited than the young children. “They want to go to the playground.

“The children do love space... my husband does as well so these are exciting times. We were going to experience it at home but it is nice to do it in a group and we might learn something from other people. We are disappointed with the clouds but we are hopeful there will be a break.”

Two other people who had to use their initiative to witness the eclipse were Matthew Nyland and Youlia Mora who used welding shields to protect their eyes.

“We couldn't get glasses but we are both welders and Youlia happened to have them in her boot and they work pretty well,” Matthew said.

They are also both members of the Newport Astronomy Club and were excited to be able to witness the event.

“It is cloudy now but we were able to see the bottom right corner was gone off it and you could see it progressing but now we can't see anything. It is exactly what I was expecting but it is still nice and cool to see it,” Matthew added.

One person who was lucky enough to get her hands on solar glasses was New Yorker Rio Polzin who queued up outside a shop in Dublin that morning to get her hands on a pair before getting the train to Westport to be in Mayo for the eclipse.

Rio, who works as an executive leadership coach, was in Ireland for the first time for a work trip and once she heard the eclipse could be seen in Ireland she was determined to see it.

“I called a bunch of places in Dublin to see if they had glasses and this store called Designist was the only one who had it.

“The shop told everyone to come at 10am and when I got there at 9.45am there was already a queue of probably 200 people and by the end there were around 500 people queuing around the block.

“The consignment only arrived at 11 and because I had to catch a train to Westport I had to pay someone near the front to buy a pair for me. They agreed to do it and I managed to catch my train. I saw online there was a viewing party so I caught a taxi to Newport.”

Rio was a person in demand because she was one of a few to have solar glasses but was happy to share them around 'for a ride back to Westport'.

When the eclipse was at its deepest, the sound of birds increased as Peter had earlier predicted and they made their way to their nests around Newport House. Just as quickly as the light dimmed, it brightened up again and by 7.15pm the street lights had turned off again.

Despite the cloud cover, Peter and the other members of the club were happy to be able to enjoy a 'fantastic experience' and pointed out the next time the solar eclipse will be at its deepest in Ireland will be in 2090.

For the majority of us on the viaduct we will not be around to see it but maybe Caoimhín and Willow will return to witness it in their old age. Maybe the sun will even show up in 2090.