Hidden WW2 Eire sign revealed after gorse fire

Dublin : A World War Two-era landmark that had disappeared from sight has been rediscovered along the Irish coast after a wildfire scorched the ground. The aerial sign was spotted at Bray Head, County Wicklow, by the Garda (Irish police) Air Support Unit as they flew over the area after the blaze.

The letters spell the word Eire, which means Ireland in the Irish language. Over 80 Eire signs were dotted around the coast in WW2 to warn bombers they were flying over a neutral country.

The whitewashed letters were carved into headlands during the war as navigational message to both Allied and German pilots. Many of the signs are still in plain view, and some have been restored by volunteers in recent years, including one at Malin Head, County Donegal.