THINK ABOUTIT CRASH REPORT
In May 1996, reports emerged of an unidentified craft allegedly crashing near Boyle, Co. Roscommon, Ireland, purportedly hitting trees before coming to rest in a local lake. The incident, often compared to the “Roswell Incident,” involved claims of a significant government cover-up, the presence of U.S. military vehicles, and the arrival of unnamed politicians at the scene. While skeptics suggest the event may have involved a downed military drone or a political distraction, local residents and specific whistleblowers within the Gardai maintain that “something big” occurred that night.
Date: May 1996
Sighting Time: Late night
Day/Night: night
Location: Near Boyle Sligo County, Roscommon, Ireland
Urban or Rural: -Rural (Lake/Wooded area)
No. of Entity(‘s): Multiple (referenced as “Sunasians”)
Entity Type: Sunasians – Humanoid
Entity Description: Humanoid beings like humans; termed “Sunasians” by witness Rory Thornton.
Hynek Classification: CE-II (Close Encounter II) Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness, where physical traces (impression, burn, medical effect, etc.) are left or (electrical effect, heat) are felt
Duration:Several hours (overnight activity)
No. of Object(s): 1
Height & Speed: Reported hitting trees and “bouncing into a lake” after getting into trouble mid-flight.
Size of Object(s): Large enough to leave “pieces of debris everywhere” and require a cordoned-off crash zone.
Distance to Object(s): Close enough for local Gardai and residents to observe debris and military recovery vehicles on-site.
Shape of Object(s): Saucer/Disc-shaped
Color of Object(s): Metallic/Debris-covered
Number of Witnesses: Multiple (Anonymous Gardai and local residents)
Source: Anton Anfalov, UFO Crash list; http://www.blather.net/archives/issue1no22.html
Full Report
According to the Mirror, ‘UFO expert’ and ‘clairvoyant’ Rory Thornton, who runs a ‘clinic’ in Newcastle Co. Galway, maintains that the Irish Government have been covering up the crash of an extraterrestrial craft near Boyle, Co. Roscommon, in May 1996. Mr. Thornton has gone to such lengths as even comparing the crash to the alleged cover up of the controversial ‘Roswell Incident’ of 50 years ago, and he seems to be of the opinion that the ‘Roswell Cover Up’ is established fact, rather than a swamp of glutinous information.
Apparently, this spacecraft ‘got into trouble’ before hitting some trees and ‘bouncing into a lake’. Without a smidgen of an explanation as to how these spacemen, or, as he calls them, the ‘Sunasians’ got their machine working again, Mr. Thornton says he’s in regular contact with them using telepathy.
The article veers off into an off-the-rack ‘The aliens are worried that we’re running our planet into the ground’ scenario, which is reminiscent of the ‘Create Your Own Conspiracy Theory’ website.
The icing on the fruitcake comes in the form of this wonderful quote: ‘They are are like humans. In fact we are the aliens to them’.
Mr. Thornton’s allegations concerning Irish Governmental conspiracies are rather interesting, especially when one considers the spate of dirty laundry which has recently been aired in Dáil Eireann and Dublin Castle. According to Mr. Thornton, an anonymous Boyle Garda (Irish policeman) maintains that the local Gardai were told to ‘keep their noses out of it’ by Government officials who were on the scene of the supposed crash.
Over coffee and whiskey last night, author and lighthouse visitor Peter Costello wryly pointed out to me that it may have been Mr. Ray Burke trying to sell passports to the ‘aliens’. For those of you who are unaware, Mr. Burke was Irish Minister for Foreign affairs until Tuesday 7th October, when he resigned amid allegations of his having sold passports to wealthy Saudi Arabian bankers in return for $20 million pounds of industrial investment. Incidentally, Mr. Burke was not in government when the Boyle incident took place.
People in Boyle seem to be adamant, if one can believe the Sunday Mirror, ‘that something big happened there that night’. Several US military Jeeps were also allegedly seen in the area, but as some of you may remember, this isn’t the first time that Blather has discussed the diplomatic intricacies of letting foreign military personnel wander about Ireland, officially or otherwise.
In fact, this isn’t the first time I’d heard about the ‘Boyle Incident’ either, the tale came to my notice via the grapevine almost a year ago, and supposedly propagated by an anonymous Boyle Garda (presumably the one mentioned above). It told of ‘something crashing’, pieces of debris everywhere, the general area being overrun by the security forces and the arrival of a few large cars, supposedly containing unnamed politicians and US embassy representatives.
I heard no more about it, but the story did get round, and with surprisingly minimal embellishment, until three weeks ago, when the Mirror got hold of it.
So, if anything happened, what could have happened? Let us, for a start, discount the extra-terrestrial hypothesis, and consider the implications of something even as trivial as a drop tank from a US military aircraft falling on Irish soil.
This might drag Ireland’s so-called neutrality into question, hence the presence of politicians, US embassy officials etc. at the ‘crash scene’. It wouldn’t be the first time that something of this nature has taken place, even without the inclusion of any cross-border trespasses in the cauldron of conspiracy.
Many years ago, a large object buried itself in the side of one the Wicklow mountains, in eastern Ireland. It was mentioned on early morning radio, and it was hypothesised that some sort of of unmanned drone had wandered out of a British military testing area in the Irish Sea. Some ‘British officials’ allegedly appeared and took it away with them, and not another word was heard. Or so the story goes.
Researcher’s Technical Notes
-
Witness Credibility: The primary source for the cover-up allegations stems from an anonymous member of the Boyle Gardai (Irish police), who claimed local law enforcement were ordered to “keep their noses out of it” by government officials.
-
Physical Evidence: Reports cited widespread debris and the immediate cordoning off of the area by security forces, followed by the appearance of large diplomatic vehicles and U.S. military Jeeps.
-
Alternative Hypotheses: Beyond the extraterrestrial theory, researchers have considered the possibility of a U.S. military drop tank or an unmanned drone from British testing ranges in the Irish Sea, which would explain the political sensitivity and diplomatic presence.
-
High Strangeness: “Clairvoyant” Rory Thornton claimed the occupants were “Sunasians”—humanoid beings—and alleged ongoing telepathic contact, though these claims remain unverified by physical data.
The 1996 Boyle Incident remains a polarizing case in Irish ufology, blending traditional UFO crash lore with the complex political landscape of 1990s Ireland. The persistent rumors of a “Roswell-style” cover-up, supported by alleged eyewitness accounts from local police, suggest that a significant aerial event did take place, regardless of the object’s origin. The involvement of foreign military equipment and high-level officials points toward an incident that challenged Irish neutrality and required immediate diplomatic management.
Ultimately, this case highlights the difficulty in separating genuine anomalous phenomena from potential military accidents or political maneuvers. By documenting the Ireland Sightings and the specific testimonies regarding the Boyle crash, we preserve a vital record of an event that local residents are still adamant was a major turning point in regional history. Whether it was a craft from the “Sunasians” or a classified military prototype, the silence from official channels continues to fuel speculation decades later.
