Some of the best places to look at the stars in Ireland

Two parts of Ireland have official designation as dark sky reserves and are being marketed to star-gazing tourists, writes Donal Hickey

WITH long nights coming in, more people might look up at the stars. Two parts of Ireland, in Co Kerry and Co Mayo, now have official designation as dark sky reserves and are being marketed to star-gazing tourists.

Artificial lighting is creating light pollution over urban areas, with photos taken from satellites and space craft showing this to be worst over Dublin, Belfast and Cork and along the east coast generally. All of which means the west coast is where you can get the clearest sky views after dark. There are more 400,000 street lights in Ireland. Add in advertising signs, spotlights on buildings, and floodlights and it’s easy to see why the stars are hard to see in certain areas, even on clear nights.

TCD physics professor Brian Espey, whose team has been studying the situation, believes as much as 20% to 30% of energy from street lights could be wasted through poorly- designed or inefficient lighting and the illumination of areas where light is not needed.

He also said this could impact on people’s health, as it might upset the day and night rhythm of life to which humans, as well as animals and plants, have been conditioned over millions of years.

The International Dark-Sky Association has granted gold-tier International Dark Sky Park status to Ballycroy National Park and Wild Nephin Wilderness, in Co Mayo. A gold-tier classification is reserved for the most exceptional of dark skies and stunning nightscapes.

The award is the first International Dark Sky Park in Ireland and is the second designation here. The first is Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve, in the Iveragh Peninsula, where Caherciveen is the main town. Both areas are ‘’havens of natural darkness’’ for wildlife and people, says the association’s executive director J Scott Feierabend.

The Kerry reserve, which includes Skellig Michael, has featured in a TV documentary in Japan. Reports from Mayo and Kerry indicate a deal of interest from Asian astro-tourists.

Ballycroy National Park and the adjoining Wild Nephin Wilderness include over 110sq km of mountainous blanket bog and forest. Viewing sites for visiting astronomers have been provided, while astronomy clubs have been formed in Ballycroy and Newport.

Mayo project manager Georgia MacMillan hopes the award will not only showcase the area for the astro-tourism market, but will also raise awareness of the impact of light pollution on the environment. Both Kerry and Mayo County Councils have committed to dark sky-friendly lighting in the designated areas and to further reducing light pollution.

Meanwhile, the Lough Gur Dark Skies Park Initiative has begun the process of obtaining official Dark Sky status, despite being only 20km from the centre of Limerick city.