Conditions aligned perfectly: the Irish Sea flat as a mill pond, high candyfloss cloud in the skyA view from Killiney Hill in south Dublin across the Irish Sea to the north Wales coast. Photograph: Emmet Riordan Sun Jun 21 2026 - 19:59 • 2 MIN READ“Daddy, where are the whales? I can’t see any whales.”“No, love, the man meant Wales, it’s a country over there across the Irish Sea.”Sunday morning lesson: be careful raising the expectations of young girls, especially ones with bright orange cameras that may love whales.Anyhow, she wasn’t my child, and her father sounded genuinely thrilled to be informed that he could see the coast of Wales from the top of Killiney Hill on this summer solstice Sunday morning.The coastline of north Wales was visible from Killiney Hill on the summer solstice. Photograph: Emmet Riordan It certainly stirred a child-like enthusiasm in me that after 54½ years on this planet, I finally, clearly and indubitably was viewing the outline of the Welsh coast from Ireland. And it even showed up on the camera of my Samsung S25 phone.I’ve thought I saw it plenty of times, but I couldn’t be sure: “Maybe it’s low clouds shaped like land”; “maybe I had too many gargles last night”; “maybe I should have gone to Specsavers”.A zoom photograph taken on a Samsung S25 of the Welsh coastline from Killiney Hill. Photograph: Emmet Riordan Growing up in Dalkey, I had heard many older folk talk of how on a clear day you could see Wales from Dalkey or Killiney Hill, about 150m above sea level. There’s even a bench on the pedestrian pathway above the Vico Road – known locally to many as the Green Road – where it’s printed on a shiny plaque as a tribute to a late loved one from their family.The science shows it is possible to see Wales from Ireland despite the fact that it’s about 100km away. A recent article by my colleague Niamh Browne outlines the atmospheric and sea conditions required to allow it to be seen by the naked eye, complete with a wonderful back-of-an envelope graphic.[ How a viral Wicklow ‘hills’ video shows why Ireland is visible from Wales in hot weatherOpens in new window ]Sketch provided by Prof Conor Sweeney Those conditions aligned perfectly on Sunday morning, the Irish Sea flat as a mill pond, with just that high candyfloss cloud in the sky. And peeping through was Anglesey, as clear as day, not just one little bit of it, but a long stretch of the north Wales coastline.[ Why is the summer solstice important in Ireland?Opens in new window ]I decided to extend my walk, taking in the vista from various vantage points on both Dalkey and Killiney Hill, and delighted in telling a few people I met what awaited them when they got to the top.And then it was gone.By the time I had dropped down to the Vico Road, maybe just 60 or 70m below, Wales had disappeared again. Was it the change in height, or a change in atmospheric conditions as the heat of the day built up? Certainly the Irish Sea wasn’t quite so serene any more.Maybe it was just the summer solstice playing tricks on me. Hold on, was that a whale that just swam by?IN THIS SECTION