Searching for signs of extraterrestrial life in the skies above Roscommon.
Sightings of UFOs are always met with scepticism but a group of true believers meet regularly in Roscommon to search for signs of life in the skies.
Unidentified Flying Objects have long been the source of fascination and speculation.
On a wind-swept hill in Boyle, County Roscommon, the UFO Society of Ireland has set up sky-watching equipment. For over two years, they have been regularly meeting up to search for signs of life in the sky. Last month, over sixty people gathered overnight to scour the skies.
Meteorologist and astronomer Eamonn Ansbro compares times and dates of sightings around the world to come up with a pattern that allows him to predict extraterrestrial sightings.
We are able now, in a position to predict when the UFOs appear at specific locations around the earth at specific times.
Boyle resident Betty Meyler, a member of the UFO Society of Ireland, says that people are surprised by her involvement in the search for UFOs. However, she claims that
So many people, particularly in the Boyle area, have seen things.
She also claims to have seen what looked like a brightly lit cigar-shaped object moving at tremendous speed quite low down on the horizon. When she saw a second, a third and a fourth object she was amazed.
In order to scientifically prove the existence of alien visitors, Eamon Ansbro has developed equipment including a camera which can get behind the light source of a UFO and obtain a spectrum analysis to help understand what is emitting the light.
One young woman who wished to remain anonymous spoke of her experiences. She witnessed an alien life form not as we know it.
As the equipment was set up to search the skies, the rain began to fall obstructing any potential viewings.
In Bundoran, County Donegal, a Sligo retailer claims to have found an alien crash site.
He has the alien body preserved in formaldehyde to prove it.
Robert Cullen, journalist at the Sligo Weekender, tells the story. The man was travelling from Ballyshannon to Sligo early one morning when he witnessed a flash of light in a field. When he went to explore what had happened, he discovered an alien embryo lying around a charred piece of grass. The embryo was covered in soot. He wrapped up the embryo and brought it back to his premises in Sligo. The man has not courted any publicity about what happened.
Betty Meyler has a question for the sceptics.
How can we possibly be so arrogant to think that we're the only people in this whole universe?
This episode of 'Nationwide' was broadcast on 26 July 1999. The presenter is Michael Ryan and the reporter is Stella Carroll.
