On March 14th, Dunmore Head in County Kerry, Ireland, takes over from the last European sunset at Cabo de Rocha, Portugal. From March 28th to May 3rd, it will be the turn of Aghernagallagh in County Mayo. After that date, the point of the last European sunset will shift to Norway.
This information is extracted from the initial results of the Atlantic SUNSET project, which, for the first time, reveals the exact location of the last European sunset on the Irish coast. This new work conducted by professors Jorge Mira (University of Santiago de Compostela) and José María Martin-Olalla (University of Seville) within the Atlantic Sunset project provides new data on the locations of Europe’s last sunsets.
While an initial study published in 2016 by Jorge Mira focused on the last sunsets on mainland Europe, this new, much broader analysis examines new locations, including large European islands that were excluded in the previous work. The last sunsets are an event that only occurs in certain extreme locations on the continent and islands, with a very specific seasonality. This phenomenon has become a spectacle that attracts more tourists each year, drawn by the growing demand for astrotourism, with the intrinsic component of the sustainability of this modality.
ATLANTIC SUNSET Project
The ATLANTIC SUNSET project, led by the CEER Foundation in consortium with 7 other partners from Ireland, Spain, Portugal and France, aims not only to harness the natural beauty associated with the best and most unique Atlantic sunsets but also to identify and enhance local endogenous resources associated with the sun, turning them into heritage attractions. To achieve this, the project will involve various activities focused on identifying some of the best places to watch sunsets, conducting studies in collaboration with local communities, tourist agents, and other development stakeholders, and developing a tourism plan.
Atlantic Area
The Interreg Atlantic Area 2021-2027 is a European funding program that promotes transnational cooperation in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, including all regions of Ireland and Portugal, as well as various French and Spanish regions on the Atlantic Ocean coast. The mission of the program is to lead the transition towards a unique, carbon-neutral, climate-resilient Atlantic Region. The program encourages the integration of sustainable economic development, societal wellbeing, and the preservation of biodiversity.
Press contact:
Daniel Fernández Santiago CEER Foundation
vigotec@fceer.org