'UFOs' in Trim skies 'like a backdrop to Star Wars'

The sighting of dozens of bright objects in the skies over Trim last Thursday night prompted speculation on whether the strange lights which appeared to be flying in formation could be UFOs. Several tabloid newspapers carried the story over the weekend of the bright circular objects that passed through the Trim skies between 10.15pm and 11pm last Thursday night and many people around the town say they witnessed the phenomenon. Helen McGrath, who lives in Hamilton Place, was outside in her garden when she noticed the bright lights in the sky and said it was like "a backdrop for Star Wars". She said: "It was around 10.30pm to 11pm. I was in the garden and looked up and saw what I thought was a plane on fire and I followed it with my eye. My husband was looking in the opposite direction and saw another one. I thought you would never see planes flying so close together and then I saw two more. They were moving steadily and then three more followed and another three, and another three. There must have been 60 or 70 of them," said Ms McGrath. "I'm not a UFO spotter or anything like that. I couldn't believe what I saw. It was like a backdrop to 'Star Wars'. It was scary and eerie to see it," she added. Ms McGrath said she was not the only person to see the lights and said hundreds of people had seen them. She added that they looked to be going in formation and were very bright, and all going in the one direction. Cllr Phil Cantwell also saw the lights and explained that as his son-in-law, Martin Flynn, drove to Trim, he saw strange lights over the town. "We went outside and saw them travelling eastwards over Trim Castle at about 10.15pm. We drove around Trim and, while many people saw the lights, no-one knew where they originated or what they were," he said. However, Trim businessman Conor Dalgarno - who also saw the lights - said they were not UFOs but a natural electrical phenomenon. He said he understood why people might think they were UFOs but he believed the bright lights were down to an electrical phenomenon that occurs post- or pre-lightning. Mr Dalgarno added that research on the internet reveals that they are quite common. Last September, Trim also hit the headlines in relation to possible UFO sightings after local councillor Jimmy Peppard saw strange triagular-shaped objects flying over the town. Other reports of strange lights flying over Dunboyne last year turned out to be Chinese lanterns in the sky that were released as part of the wedding celebrations for a couple who held their reception in Dunboyne Castle Hotel.