The Great Sugarloaf Lighthouse (fantasy lighthouse)

Le grand pain de sucre

(This post is a follyer-upper to the story of the actual Bray lighthouse)

Christ the Redeemer beams down famously on the citizens of Rio de Janeiro from his perch on the Sugarloaf Mountain, one of the great sights of the world.

It is hard to believe that at one stage, Bray Town Council were seriously considering erecting a lighthouse on top of the Great Sugarloaf to beam down its benevolent light upon the people of Bray and, presumably, the sea beyond. But such was the case.

Edmond Eduarde Fournier d'Albe

The idea was the brainchild of one Professor Edmond Eduarde Fournier d'Albe who, as one can guess by his name, was an Irishman. Google the name, even the surname, and one will come up with a long list of ideas and mentions of this guy. He was primarily a scientist but had his finger in many pies and was indeed a celebrity figure in Dublin at the turn of the twentieth century. 

The lighthouse idea was first broached after the death of Charles Stewart Parnell. Fournier d'Albe's proposal to the Council was to erect a lighthouse to Parnell's memory on top of the "Big Sugarloaf." The Professor was a resident of Bray at the time and his lighthouse would be fitted with prismatic lenses which would reflect the sun's rays by day and be lighted at night.

A committee was formed and subscriptions were raised but when the Professor left Bray a couple of years later, everybody said "Sod that!" and the project was shelved. In 1946, it was reported that there was £123 in the bank and that this money should be used for some other monument to Parnell. I have no idea if a monument was ever raised, or if the money was raided by the Government in the Dormant Accounts act a few years ago.

The Volta lighthouse at Brunate, looking out over Lake Como

A very similar project did actually take place above the little village of Brunate on the southern shores of Lake Como. The lighthouse, built in 1927, six years before Fournier d'Albe died, shines red, green and white lights over the southern end of the lake and is a truly spectacular sight. It was built to commemorate the electrical genius Alessandro Volta, and was erected on the 100th anniversary of his death. Given the similarity of the project to Bray, combined with the scientific element, it is hard to believe that the Professor didn't have a hand in this, though I haven't found a link yet!

To give you a flavour of Edmond, his many appearances in the press include: writing a book on the scientist Sir William Crookes; writing an English-Irish dictionary and phrasebook; being president of a pan-Celtic organisation; promoting the Gaelic League; solving the problem of dazzling headlights on motor vehicles (by reflecting the light back into the driver's face!); inventing the Optophone, whereby blind people could read by having words turned into sound; predicting and describing moon travel; inventing the Tremoscope, by which it was possible to see through thick walls without being seen; being president of the Esperanto society in Ireland; and, erm, beating his wife. And so on.

He even stood for the Council in Bray in 1895. The Dublin Daily Express reported the battle for the seat in their typical impartial, non-racist way that they are loved for even today:-

"The Bray township election , which comes off on Tuesday, is likely to be a lively one. In the West Ward, Captain James H. Patrickson J.P., retires by rotation and is seeking re-election. He has been for many years a commissioner for the ward, has always taken a deep interest in the township and has ever been active and attentive in forwarding the many improvements which have been carried out in Bray. He is opposed by Mr. Edmond Edward Fournier d'Albe, who is residing in Bray for about two years and whose foreign name suggests that he cannot have much interest in the land of his adoption, while the retiring commissioner is a very large ratepayer."

With such a ringing endorsement for the thoroughly Irish professor, Captain Patrickson romped home.