Nearly 300 years ago an earthquake off the coast of Portugal caused a tsunami which hit Ireland’s coast. Records show that the Lisbon tsunami, as it was known, damaged Galway’s Spanish Arch, caused a large body of water to pour into Kinsale harbour and made an island out of Aughinish in northern Clare.

Last Saturday, locals in West Cork momentarily feared that history could be repeating itself, when unusual tidal activity saw water levels in some harbours drop dramatically.

So, what happened on Ireland’s southwest coast last weekend? We hear from eyewitness, charter boat operator David Edwards.

Sorcha Pollak also talks to oceanographer at Maynooth University, Dr Gerard McCarthy, about what caused the freak tides at Courtmacsherry and Union Hall last weekend, the likelihood of a big tsunami hitting Ireland and how prepared we would be for one.

Links:

Deep Maps Cork article on the Lisbon Tsunami: http://www.deepmapscork.ie/past-to-present/climate/1755-lisbon-earthquake-tsunami-west-cork-coast/

Dr McCarthy's Twitter thread explaining the unusual tidal activity in Cork: https://twitter.com/ger_the_sea/status/1538660304699150337

Watch David Edwards' footage from Courtmacsherry: https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2022/06/20/freak-west-cork-tides-not-caused-by-marine-earthquake-experts-say/

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