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The Northern Lights were seen over Ireland tonight
Northern Lights illuminating the Erne Estuary, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal (Pic credit: Emer O’Shea photography)
Scenes in Wicklow
Scenes over Ballinrobe, Co Mayo
Sky over Dublin on Monday night (Photo: Lauren Beehan)
Sky pictured over Dublin on Monday night (Photo: Lauren Beehan)
Dublin skies pictured on Monday night (Photo: Owen Breslin)
Irish Independent Newsdesk
Today at 07:45
Ireland was treated to a rare and spectacular display in the night sky on Monday as a powerful solar storm struck Earth, producing vivid sightings of the Northern Lights across the country, including stunning shows over Galway, Mayo, Leitrim, Donegal, Dublin and Wicklow.
The event followed an extreme space‑weather alert issued earlier in the week after a large solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from the sun.
Scenes in Wicklow
The charged particles from the CME reached Earth this evening, colliding with the planet’s magnetic field and triggering widespread auroral activity.
Dublin skies pictured on Monday night (Photo: Owen Breslin)
Sky over Dublin on Monday night (Photo: Lauren Beehan)
The storm reached G3 “strong” level on the geomagnetic scale, allowing the auroral oval to expand far beyond its usual Arctic boundary.
Sky pictured over Dublin on Monday night (Photo: Lauren Beehan)
As a result, the Northern Lights became visible much further south than normal, with colours and movement reported across multiple regions.
Northern Lights illuminating the Erne Estuary, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal (Pic credit: Emer O’Shea photography)
The best views occur between late evening and shortly after midnight.
Those who travelled to dark, open areas with a clear northern horizon were rewarded with some of the most striking auroral displays.
Scenes over Ballinrobe, Co Mayo
For many, it was a rare opportunity to witness the aurora borealis with the naked eye, a phenomenon typically confined to Scandinavia, Canada or Iceland.
With the storm arriving during hours of darkness and conditions remaining favourable in the west and northwest, the spectacle is already being described as one of the most memorable in recent times.