Valentia Magnetic Observatory (1888-present)

Valentia Island, off County Kerry, was chosen to be the site of meteorological observations in 1860, and by 1865 it was decided that a meteorological observatory be established there to take advantage of the site being a terminus of the transatlantic telegraph cable. This, plus the fact that the site was distant from all other magnetic observatories and that the observer there had been trained at Kew, prompted the commencement of regular absolute magnetic observations in 1888. In 1892, the whole observatory was moved to nearby Cahirciveen, on the mainland, but retained the name Valentia.

The observatory was left relatively unscathed by the Civil War (1922-23), though at one point during this period it was broken into and a telephone and theodolite were stolen. In 1937, control passed from the British Meteorological Office to the Irish Meteorological Service (renamed Met Éireann in 1996).

For more information, visit Met Éireann's page on Valentia Observatory.

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Geographic Coordinates:

1892-present

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