Eve, Oisí and Majella O'Connor read Oisín's self-penned story about the spaghetti astronaut at the Cloughjordan Dark Sky event last Saturday week

Dark Sky over Cloughjordan

The Cloughjordan Dark Sky group held an event last Saturday week to celebrate the glory and majesty of the night sky.


Storytellers, poets, actors and an astronomer were all invited to contribute, as were local children. All told stories related to the sky.


John Flannery from the Irish Astronomical Society regaled the audiences with tales of the mythology and facts of the constellations. Award-willing children's author Nigel Quinlan told a belly-chuckling story about not being afraid of the dark and actually becoming an astronaut.


Actor Andrew Lummis similarly told the young and old attendees a beguiling tale of the dark, while Cuirt poetry slam winner Mel White recited her own work about nature and person.


However, the many local children who told stories - some of them their own compositions - were the real stars. Like Oisín O'Connor, whose astronaut somehow turned into spaghetti (hint - there was a black hole involved!). 


The event was held outdoors in the dark sky viewing area of the Amphitheatre area of the Cloughjordan ecovillage.