Pete's Irish Lighthouses

  St. John, in his lifetime, made many fine points but his best two were probably this lighthouse in Donegal and the wasp lighthouse in county Down I am very grateful to the Great Lighthouses of Ireland site for this snippet of information concerning the tragic events of late 1886 in south Donegal. The site says the details were unearthed by the archivist at Irish Lights, a tantalising titbit that is hopefully the precursor of things to come, though hopefully not quite so traumatic. It has always been a source of bewilderment to me why the naming of light stations around our coasts should be a cause of confusion. If there is a Blackrock lighthouse at Sligo, why name a subsequent lighthouse Blackrock, Mayo? Call it Mayo West or Belmullet Rock or something to avoid any vestige of possible confusion. In the trade, Crookhaven light and the Eeragh light are distinguishable both visually and geographically. Yet Irish Lights insisted on calling them both 'Rock Island.' And of course ...

 Mew Island in the 1930s   ( Copyright estate of Eileen Kates, used by permission.) Hey Mr. Daly, I know you’re awake. It’s only three hours until morning will break. In her house near the town, I can see a wee light – do you think that she’s thinking about me tonight?   I cannot play chess and I cannot play cards, but quiz me again on the coastline of Ards. Ask me who lives in yon house near the shore, for it is the girl that I truly adore.   Oh, Mr. Daly, can you hear my heart pound? I simply can’t wait for my leave to come round. So fine is the morning, so calm is the sea, I feel I could amble to Donaghadee.   I’ll walk to her door with a great, beaming smile and ask her to walk up the lane for a while. My boots will be polished, my uniform clean, which is bound to impress a young girl of nineteen.   You’re up in the lantern? It’s the place I love most. It gives the best view of her house by the coast. The field full of cows on the hillside above – tell...

The old Inishtrahull lighthouse today, photograph courtesy the multi-talented and multi-faceted John McCarron. The tower, on the right, was taken down in 1960 as it obscured the beam from the new light at the other end of the island I'm going to use a red font to denote additions / corrections to the list of nineteenth century lightkeepers on Inishtrahull. It's been quite a while since I last wrote about Inishtrahull   which wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't labelled the post Part One, thereby implying a second part was in the offing! So, rather belatedly, here is the second part of what may be a trilogy but may again be only a biology(?) We'll look at the early lightkeepers on that strange, unheralded island that can be spelt in so many ways that a googler could be driven mad. The Commissioner of Irish Lights has excellent records of lightkeepers but only from 1919, when that girl with the red hair got the secretary's job and put some manners on the filing system....

  Dundalk Bay lighthouse (photograph by Barry Pickup) Gather round, ladies and gentlemen, don't be shy. Can you hear me at the back? Today I'm going to let you into the secret of Doctor Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People - a young lady pining away and growing paler by the minute; a lightkeeper's anxiety for his beautiful daughter. What's that you say? I'm a mere quack? Well, if you don't believe me, you'll surely believe the august and honourable Ballymena Observer of June 24th 1898 ...  A quick glance at the 1901 Census return shows James (55) and Elizabeth (50) Walshe up in Blacksod, county Mayo on the beautiful Belmullet peninsula, where James could have tended the light at either Blacksod, Eagle Island or the remote Blackrock (Mayo) light. With the couple were their three daughters, Frances (22), Maude (17) and Esther (15) Seemingly Frances was the lady who had such a fortunate, life-changing experience, courtesy of Dr. Williams.