Bunkers on the Air Ireland
Background
· Bunkers on the Air Ireland (EIBOTA) is an amateur radio programme for activating bunkers in Ireland (EI) by licensed operators to make contacts with other licensed operators worldwide.
· It combines the understanding of history, an awareness of geography and geographical features and the challenge of amateur radio communication.
· EIBOTA joined the WWBOTA family in January 2025.
Dursey Head LOP (October 2003) (Michael Kennedy)
History
· During the second world war a network of coastal look out posts (LOPs) was established by the Irish Defence Forces as an anti-invasion watch.
· LOPS were continuously manned 24/7 365 days a year by members of the Marine and Coast Watching Service who reported all sightings on land, sea and in the air by telephone to local Defence Forces intelligence officers who in turn reported sightings to Defence Forces Headquarters in Dublin.
· The M&CWS was a low-tech Observer Corps created in a period where Ireland lacked an effective navy.
· The M&CWS enabled continuous real time reporting on events on any section of the Irish coast to senior military officers, government officials and ministers.
· Although Ireland was neutral in the second world war, its neutrality was strongly pro-Allied and information from the LOP network was often covertly provided to Allied diplomats in Dublin and to ‘friendly’ Allied governments.
· In 1945 the network of LOPs was closed down. A number of LOPs were designated as fallout monitoring positions in the 1960s and 1970s.
· Increasing interest in the history of LOPs in the 2010s and 2020s has led to a number being restored.
EIBOTA Map and List
| Scheme | DXCC | Reference | Name | Type | Lat | Long | Locator |
|---|
Intersecting Bunkers
Further Information and links
Irish Defence Forces: https://www.militaryarchives.ie/en/reading-room-collections/lookout-post-logbooks
Time Schmelzer LOP art Project: www.lookoutpost.com
Éire Signs: www.eiremarkings.org
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coast_Watching_Service
Clogher Head LOP (No. 3), February 1940 (Courtesy of the National Arcgives of Ireland (OPW Collection))
Dunbrattin Head LOP (No. 18), February 1945 (Courtesy of the National Archives of Ireland (OPW Collection))
Kilcreadaun LOP (No. 44), 23 July 1941 (courtesy of National Archives (OPW Collection))
Activity and participants
· The main goal of the programme is the enjoyment of activating and hunting bunkers.
· EIBOTA is not a contest.
· Amateur operators can participate as Activators and/or Hunters.
· SWL (Short wave listeners) are also encouraged to participate.
· All bands and modes are valid according to the license of the operators and the regulations in Ireland.
· Bunkers must be activated in person.
· No repeaters may be used for EIBOTA QSOs.
· The programme is based on the personal integrity of the participants.
Safety and Permissions
· All EIBOTA activity is the responsibility of the participants. Activations are made at activators own risk. Activators are responsible for their own safety.
· Activators should be aware that the structures listed herewith, being built in 1940, are now in fragile condition and may be unsafe to enter. Masts and antennae should not be attached to them.
· The listing of a bunker in the EIBOTA reference list does not in anyway indicate that a bunker, or the vicinity of a bunker, is either safe or legal to enter.
· Activators enter LOPs and other EIBOTA referenced structures at their own risk, should conduct a personal safety assessment before conducting an activation and obtain the permission of the relevant landowners if the activation site is on private property.
· Activators should assess weather conditions before making activations and be aware that weather conditions in coastal regions of Ireland change, generally for the worse, rapidly and continually.
· EIBOTA accepts no responsibility for any issues arising from the activation of a bunker.
Activators
- Activating a bunker requires the activator be within the one-kilometre activation zone.
- However, when bunkers are placed close together, their activation zones may intersect.
- In such an area of overlap, an activator can operate from within the intersection area and activate all overlapping bunkers simultaneously.
- The overlap area thus acts as a shared activation space, allowing a single action to trigger multiple activations.
- A maximum of up to three bunkers may be activated at once in this manner.
- 15 QSOs obtained in one unique activation are required for a bunker activation to be valid.
- Activation from the home shack is not permitted.
- Activation from inside a vehicle is permitted.
- Activators, Hunters and SWLs are NOT obligated to send their logs to EIBOTA.
- Activation from the home shack is not permitted.
- Activation from inside a vehicle is permitted.
- Activators, Hunters and SWLs are NOT obligated to send their logs to EIBOTA.
Hunters
· Every QSO is valid for Hunters and SWLs regardless of whether the Activator achieves the minimum number of QSOs for that activation.
Awards
· Initially EIBOTA will not issue separate awards.
· All awards for EIBOTA activations, and hunting EIBOTA bunkers are, however, eligible for WWBOTA Awards.
Éire Sign
If you activate an EIBOTA LOP location you may well see the large white painted stone ‘Éire Sign’ close by. ‘Éire’ is ‘Ireland’ in the Irish language. The signs were originally to alert pilots they were over neutral Irish territory. With the addition of a number to each sign (at American request) they became daytime aids to navigation to Allied pilots crossing the Atlantic in the run up to D-Day who were supplied with maps of the Irish coast with the locations of the numbered signs marked. Here two Pilatus PC-9M advanced trainers of the Irish Air Corps fly by the restored ‘Éire Sign’ at LOP No. 7 at Dalkey (courtesy of the Irish Air Corps)
EIBOTA Coordinator
All correspondence and award requests should be sent to:
Michael Kennedy (EI6IRB) Michael.J.Kennedy.70@gmail.com
Portacloy LOP (No. 63), April 2003. Known locally as ‘Teacháin a’Watch’ (‘the Watch House’ in Irish), it has recently been restored. See www.lop63.com (Michael Kennedy)