Solar eclipse in Cork: Thousands gather across city for 'momentous' moment

Thousands of people gathered around Cork City to experience the rare astronomical phenomenon of a 96% eclipse of the sun on Wednesday evening.

There was even a successful marriage proposal made at Bell's Field in the city's northside, where hundreds assembled to watch the eclipse together.

Hundreds more met around Blackrock Castle Observatory, where free glasses were handed out so that people could watch the eclipse safely. 

Birds started chirping and huddling in excited, nervous groups — a telltale sign of nature — as the historic eclipse reached its 96% pinnacle after 7pm in Cork.

Dense cloud cover — which descended cruelly on Wednesday evening after a blue-sky day — blocked the eclipse from human view, but the sky darkened slightly. 

Monika Pataki, an anaesthetist practising in Portlaoise hospital, arranged cover for her shift so that she could leave early to travel to Cork for the eclipse.

She could not source glasses in Portlaoise and knew they were to be distributed from Blackrock Castle Observatory — which was also supposed to be one of the best viewing spots.

She remembered the eclipse she witnessed in 1999 in her home country of Hungary as “exhilarating.” 

“The birds started chirping, flying around. The light went blue before it got dark.” 

Despite the disappointment of cloud cover blocking her view of this eclipse, she said that coming to Cork was still a win.

“I met some lovely people here and had great conversations. Sometimes you win what you really need.”

Niall Smith, head of research at MTU and head of Blackrock Castle Observatory, said that some 2,000 viewing glasses were given out from the observatory on Thursday.

Some 7,000 pairs of glasses had been distributed in the last couple of weeks, he said.

“We're saying that for every pair of glasses, three people probably get to watch it. So something in the order of 25,000 people or more will have been facilitated to watch the eclipse safely because of the glasses that we have been distributing for free.” 

While Blackrock Castle Observatory was distributing glasses for free, they were being sold for €10 in Dublin today, he said.

“Or you can get them on resale apparently in the UK for a couple of hundred pounds,” Mr Smith said.

Ireland will not see another eclipse of this scale until 2090.

Mary McCarthy, director of the Crawford Art Gallery, said that the eclipse was a reminder of the size of the world and the enormity of the universe.

“I think it's momentous. And the excitement of being here at Blackrock Castle, it's kind of amazing, particularly because it's such a collective experience.

“It's really special.

“I love the enormity of it, the wonder of it.

“I think it's an amazing opportunity in Cork, in the south of Ireland, to look after this kind of sky tourism.

“People are interested. Blackrock Castle Observatory is a really big resource here in the community, and it's a national resource of international significance.”

Vickram Ghorpadey and Gouri Ghorpadey were on holiday in Ireland from Boston for the week.

They witnessed a total eclipse in April 2024 in St Louis in the US, at 1pm, making the experience even more surreal.

That lasted three minutes and 40 seconds, but it went quickly, Gouri said.

“It suddenly gets very cold and quiet,” she said.

When the moon first moves to unblock the first rays of light from a total eclipse, it looks like a diamond ring, Vickram said.

“It only lasts a few seconds, but it’s so beautiful.” 

They are going to Egypt in August 2027 to witness another total eclipse.

It will be Vickram’s third, after having first experienced one in his youth in India.

Twins Lydia and Anna Scott were with their mum Val Scott, and their friend Heidi Finnerty, who had come from Mayo to view the eclipse with the Scotts, who live in Glanmire.

They queued for two hours to get the precious glasses.

"Everyone seems to be really excited, and there's loads of small kids everywhere, and they have all their boxes made ready to watch," Lydia said.

Her mother Val said they would keep the glasses for 30 years and always remember this evening together whenever they saw them.

Despite the stubborn cloud cover, the group remained upbeat.

Anna said: “I think it's really special. This is something that’s been celebrated for hundreds of years. There’s a lovely feeling of community here.”