An invitation from Orla Breen
Borrow
the dark.
Twelve people. One headland.
A night with room for the sky.
“The dark here is the most valuable thing I own. I'd like to lend it to you for a night.”
Orla BreenNothing between
you and the night.
No town to the west. No streetlight for eleven kilometres. Just the Atlantic, and a sky with its dark still intact.
First, you do
nothing at all.
For twenty minutes, there is no telescope. You settle on the lawn while Orla points out what is appearing, and more stars come through.
To your eyes, the Milky Way is a pale, textured band with dark lanes. Not the colours in a photograph. Something you are standing underneath.
Only red light after dark. Orla lends you a torch. White light starts those twenty minutes again.
Small in the eyepiece.
Quite a lot to take in.
Saturn, through the telescope.
This photograph is true to the eye.
The sky chooses
the programme.
Orla chooses the telescopes' targets on the night. The season and the sky have the final say.
- The Milky Way
- Across the sky over the sea. Best in autumn.
- Andromeda
- A faint smudge, visible without a telescope once your eyes adjust. Its light left 2.5 million years ago.
- Saturn
- Those rings. Autumn and early winter.
- The Orion Nebula
- A cloud where stars are forming. Winter.
- The Pleiades
- A cluster of young stars. Through the winter.
She used to
forecast it.
“I spent eleven years telling people what the sky would do. Now I show them what it's for.”
Orla runs every night herself. She chose this headland for its darkness before she had a telescope.
On her best night, the sky quality meter read 21.8. The Milky Way had dark lanes you could see with your own eyes.
There is a 14-inch reflector in the dome, three smaller telescopes on the lawn, and the sea below the cliff. There is also tea, hot chocolate and a basket of woollen hats.
“I will never sell you
a cloudy night.”
4pm. The forecast.
Orla checks the sky's prospects on the day of every session.
By 5pm. Your choice.
If cloud is forecast, she emails everyone booked. Move to another night, or take a full refund.
Already here?
If the sky closes after you arrive, you get a free second visit. There is no indoor talk standing in for the stars.
“If there's nothing to see, I'd rather you went home warm and came back.”
Bring another layer.
Leave room for the dark.
About two hours after full darkness.
Twelve guests at most. Orla, every time.
A place on the lawn
€35 adult €18 under-16
Children aged 8 and over are welcome.
The way in
A level, 150-metre path from the car park, edged with low red lights. One telescope has a low eyepiece usable from a chair.
What to bring
More warm layers than you think. The Atlantic headland is colder at night than it looks from the car.
Follow the darker months
Thursday to Saturday, late August to mid-May. Starts at 22:30 in late August and 19:00 in midwinter. The calendar favours nights without the moon.
Closed from mid-May to the end of July. Even at midnight, the northern horizon holds its twilight.
If your plans change
Move your booking free up to 24 hours before. Inside 24 hours, it can still be moved if another guest takes your place.
Online booking is for a named night. Each month opens on the first of the month before.
The booking calendar is not connected on this page.
Questions before you come? hello@doonvarra.ie
Orla answers every email herself.