Even those without an interest in UFOs are likely to be aware of the apparent sighting that has caused quite a stir at the start of November 2018 off the south-west coast of Ireland. What makes this sighting particularly interesting is that the main witnesses are all experienced commercial airline pilots. Essentially, they are arguably the best witness to such events. Not only due to their experience of aerial phenomena and indeed other aerial vehicles, but also for their ability to assess a fast unfolding encounter, take in the detail, and then relay that information accurately. All in highly pressured situations.

Furthermore, it would come to light in the days following the sighting being made public knowledge that another witness, a resident of the town of Cork, had also seen the mysterious object. And he had managed to obtain almost a minute of video footage. Minutes later, other reports from residents on the ground would come in. Something was certainly making its way through the Irish skies early that November morning. What it was, though, is still very much up for debate.

While the incident isn’t perhaps as dramatic as the 1986 Japanese Air Lines Flight-1628 encounter, for example, it has nonetheless stirred the interest of many in the UFO community. Many UFO enthusiasts, for example, believe this sighting, along with other recent encounters and declassified pieces of video footage is a sign that we are moving closer to some kind of UFO disclosure. While that might be wishful thinking, at least for now, it is interesting that, as we shall examine shortly, the case bears similarities to other sightings over Ireland in recent years.

Before we delve into the finer details of the incident, check out the short video below. It is a news clip of the encounter.

Something “Moving So Fast” It’s Already Gone!

At around 6:47 am on 9th November 2018, Shannon air traffic control would receive an urgent contact from a British Airways pilot who was guiding a flight from Montreal in Canada to London’s Heathrow Airport. She enquired as to whether there were any “military exercises” operating in the air space. The reply was there was none. She could, though, see a “very bright light” in the air “moving so fast”. The strange object had come right up to the left-hand side of the British Airways commercial airliner before it “rapidly veered to the north”. As it happened, she wasn’t the only witness to the encounter.

A pilot from a Virgin Airways plane claimed he could also see a strange light in the sky. He would claim that “multiple objects (were) following the same sort of trajectory”. He would suggest they might be meteorites entering the atmosphere. However, another pilot would state he could see “two bright lights” which were “climbing at speed”, going as far as to say that the speed was “astronomical. It was like Mach 2”. This, incidentally, is twice the speed of sound. Certainly not a conventional aircraft.

You check out the audio of that exchange below. Truly an intriguing exchange.

As well as the pilots themselves, however, a resident from the town of Cork, would manage to capture footage of what would appear to be the same strange aerial anomaly from his backyard. Donal Brady would state to local media that he saw “a very bright object in the sky. It wasn’t moving like a plane. It was hovering and moving sideways”. Realizing it was something out of the ordinary, Brady quickly took out his phone and managed to film around sixty seconds of footage.

You can see that fascinating video footage below.

Sightings Across South-West Ireland!

According to social media, several sightings of a UFO were reported over County Kerry a little before 7 am the same morning. The British Airways plane was flying over Kerry at around that time. This would suggest the reports from County Kerry were of the same object (or objects) witnessed by the airline pilots minutes earlier.

The Aviation Authority of Ireland would promise an investigation into the incidents. Initial explanations were that the pilots “likely saw a shooting star” or a meteorite. This, however, doesn’t seem to match the movements of the object – not least that it was “climbing” at one point. Nor does it address the video footage from Cork or the multiple sightings, in the same timeframe, no less, from County Kerry.

The sighting has already galvanized the UFO community on a global scale, with media outlets around the world taking an interest in the encounter. Perhaps there are more reports to come? Maybe there are residents on the ground, perhaps walking their dogs or driving to work, who very well might have witnessed the same object? Perhaps they haven’t given it another thought? And maybe the more the story stays in the news, some of these hypothetical witnesses will step forward with their own accounts. Maybe more sightings will follow.

It will certainly be interesting to keep an eye on the case, much like the recent sightings over Arizona, to see where its place will reside in the history of UFO accounts. Might there be more sightings in the Irish skies to come in the (relatively speaking) immediate future? Might sightings occur further afield over the United Kingdom and Europe? Or might this be the start of an Irish UFO wave? After all, Ireland has an extensive and relatively recent history of such incidents.

Many Sightings Of Orange Orbs And Lights

At a little after 10 pm on the evening of 30th August 2010, for example, an anonymous witness would report an “orange light” moving across the sky silently. The witness was driving home at the time, towards Annalong. He at first thought the light was nothing more than a paper lantern. However, it would suddenly stop dead in the air and then reverse its direction. No sound whatsoever came from this mysterious object. It then began to climb higher and higher at speed, disappearing out of sight.

A similar sighting occurred three years earlier in September 2007 in Dublin. According to the witness, at a little after 8 pm one evening, an “orange orb” was clearly visible traveling at around 150 miles per hour, moving out from the Dublin mountain area and towards the east. As this orb – which appeared more like a “ball of energy more than a solid object” – made its way overhead, other (more conventional) aircraft were clearly visible, offering the witness perspective.

The witness would follow the strange object as it headed out to sea. He would eventually lose sight of it as it was swallowed up by the clouds. Around a minute later, however, another identical object would travel in exactly the same direction, at the same speed, becoming lost in the same bank of clouds. In total, four orbs would make this incredibly fast journey over Dublin.

Less than six months earlier, also in Dublin, on the evening of 18th April 2007, came another sighting involving mysterious orange lights. It was around 9:30 pm when the witness was watching the stars and the night sky through his telescope. For the past several evenings he had witnessed a strange ball of light moving in the skies. This evening, he would see much, much more.

A Huge Craft With Six Orange Lights!

He satisfied himself that the object was possibly a satellite. But even so, he was intrigued enough to monitor the skies again this evening. On this particular evening, with no apparent activity, the witness was just about to head inside. Then, coming out of the west was a “huge chevron shaped bank of misty orange lights”. They were in two sets of three, one set on each side of a solid, grey craft. They were seemingly heading towards Dublin airport. The object made no sound whatsoever as it cut through the darkening skies. This perplexed the witness somewhat, if for no other reason than the sheer size of it.

It was moving at considerable speed until it suddenly altered its course, moving out of line of the airport and on a course that would take it out to sea. As he attempted to follow it, the rooftops of the other houses on the street eventually cut off his view. By the time he ran around to the front of the house, the object was nowhere to be seen.

He would remain outside watching the skies for some time, though. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he “had a strange feeling” that there would be more of the mysterious lights. It was a feeling that would prove to be right. Thirty minutes or so later, two strange orange orbs would appear. And travel along the exact same route as the large object had. However, these two objects were traveling so first, they were “out of sight in no more than two seconds”.

It is interesting to note that all of these “other” sightings over Ireland in the past decade or so, have all involved “orange lights” of some kind or another.