Rural Donegal hamlet could become a ‘dark sky park’!

A rural community in south west Donegal is to seek ‘dark skies’ accreditation in order to lure star gazers to the area.

Lárchomhairle Paróiste Ghleanncholmcille has already begun the process which, if successful, could see Glencolmcille becoming a ‘dark sky park.’

The forward thinking community group is in the process of measuring their darkness quality and will need to do that over a six month period.

A Dark Sky Park is more than just dark, it is a place where exceptional starry skies are protected and valued as an important educational, cultural, scenic and natural resource. 

By protecting dark skies, it helps ecosystems and wildlife, attracts off- season tourism and reduces our carbon footprint.

In May 2016, the International Dark-Sky Association awarded  The Mayo Dark Sky Park a Gold Tier standard of International Dark Sky Park.