Cork's Big Dish ready to track Santa on his way to Ireland

This Christmas, The Big Dish, Ireland’s 32-metre radio telescope at the National Space Centre (NSC), is celebrating 40 years of tracking Santa’s annual journey around the globe.

Located in the aptly named Elfordstown in Cork, the dish was built in 1984 by Eircom to send calls to North America via satellite, it has also been used to listen for the birth of stars in the cosmos and as a teaching device.

Illuminated

Each Christmas Eve, the illuminated dish takes on an entirely different mission, lighting Santa’s way to Ireland as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children across the globe.

Bruce Hannah, CEO of The Big Dish Company, said: “Santa might be a traditionalist when it comes to his sleigh and reindeer, but he’s also a savvy adopter of technology." 

"He uses satellite positioning to help keep him on track for his very long night of delivering presents to children all over the world.”

These navigation satellites relay data to groundstations in Elfordstown, which can track Santa across 70% of the globe from Ireland’s unique vantage point.

Santa’s annual round-the-world trip will start at around 11am Irish time. 

A midnight sweep through Ireland will be one of his last stops before he heads towards chimneys in North and South America. 

Parents of children who should be in bed can follow Santa’s progress at https://santatracker.google.com.