Irish defence forces eyed UFOs for 37 years

Ireland's defence forces maintained a dossier on unidentified flying objects for 37 years, according to details released Thursday under the country's freedom of information laws.

Yahoo reports that the documents dating back to 1947 that were released to the Irish Times newspaper report on a range of strange sightings. There are apparently a wide range of descriptions of UFOs that were reported, some being like fried eggs, while others are described as things like a household iron with fins at the back. One entry in the file from a shopkeeper and farmer in County Kerry in the southwest of the country in 1947(the same year as the Roswell incident) says he told police he saw a round object moving "faster than a motor car" through the sky.

"It was flat and was like a big wheel or large plate... the rim was white and it was hollow in the centre."

According to a spokesman for the defence ministry, the UFO dossier was no longer maintained after 1984. It will be interesting to see what else comes from these files. It will help researchers paint a better picture of just what has been going on.