Pete's Irish Lighthouses

The 1880 lighthouse at Cape Saunders, New Zealand For a blog that is almost universally dedicated to Irish lighthouses, it seems somewhat incongruous to start a post with a lighthouse located about as far as one can get from our green and pleasant land without resorting to space travel. But bear with me, all will be revealed in my usual long-winded and meandering manner. Twice upon a time, in the 1850s, there were two boys born at Tarmon, next to Blacksod at the southern tip of the Mullet peninsula in county Mayo. One was called Patrick, born on the first day of 1853, and the other was called Anthony, born in 1857; their parents were Thomas Heneghan and Mary (nee Needham) They had other siblings of course but these two are the relevant parties of this story.  Tarmon was just a few yards down the road from Blacksod and the now famous lighthouse there began construction in late summer 1864. It is not unreasonable to assume that both boys took a great interest in the light, maybe forg...

  Postcard depicting the Helter-Skelter lighthouse at the Irish International Exhibition in Dublin in 1907 I am fortunate enough to remember helter-skelters which were a feature of travelling fairgounds, although, even as a child, I considered them a lot of hard work for a few seconds exhilaration. Basically, they were a glorified slide which spiralled down around a tower, ascended by a metal staircase which gradually filled up as gobshytes forgot to lift their feet when coming down and came to a halt halfway. The Beatles had a song about one, later covered brilliantly by Siouxsie and the Banshees, My grandad, had he been the sort to have spent his hard-earned tuppence on such frivolities would, apparently, have known them as a 'helter-skelter lighthouse,' so called due to their resemblance to an actual lighthouse. Maybe they had a light shining from the top as evening fell? Anyway, I suspect they served little purpose as aids to maritime navigation, particularly this one, loca...

Wedding photograph of Elizabeth Healy and Peter Lavelle in Bangor in 1903. The bride's father Matthew Healy is almost recumbent, bottom left. The groom's father, John Lavelle, could well be the gentleman standing on the right. The officiating minister was William Lavelle. (photograph courtesy Trish Lavelle) Trish Lavelle, down in Cork, recently sent me an incredible document that I have been poring over and checking and re-checking and fitting into the narratives I have for old lighthouses and keepers. It is a transcript of an interview that some very insightful person did with one of her ancestors, 'Granny Lavelle.' It was carried out in the late 1960s or early 1970s and is a general chat about her life and reminiscences. 'Granny Lavelle' was born Elizabeth Healy on Eagle Island in 1882. She was the daughter of lightkeeper Matthew Healy, who himself was the son of keeper John Healy. Her sister, Catherine, married keeper Jeremiah Meehan. Her brother, also called...

Unfortunately I cannot find the names of the people who sent me the photographs on this page due to my sloppy record taking. My apologies to all. No doubt former Irish lightkeepers will be scratching their heads and trying to recall a former colleague called Hourigan, wondering if their memory is starting to fail. Don't worry. Its doubtful you will have heard of him. Though, of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that your memory isn't failing. The beautifully castellated lighthouse in the pictures is Spillane's Tower aka the Snuff Box which still shines forth on the approaches to Limerick dock. I wrote about it here a few years ago in case you want to learn a bit about its history. It was built on an area of reclaimed marshland called Corcanree or Corkanree ( the Marsh of the King ) on the embankment of which the people of Limerick would stroll on fine evenings. Aside from being the man who lit and dowsed the light at the top of the tower, Thomas was also the ...

Le phare de l'île pourri, as a bad French student might say I have photographed, in my time, almost all the lighthouses in Ireland, some from a nearer vantage point than others. When it comes to actually ascending the tower and getting in the lantern room, however, the total is much smaller. Off the top of my head, I can count Hook Head, Ballycotton, Old Head of Kinsale, Galley Head, Valentia, Blacksod, Fanad, Rathlin East, Rathlin West and Donaghadee, a small total that does little credit to my claims of being a lighthouse enthusiast. Of course, there are not many more that are open to the public - St. Johns Point, county Down; Loop Head; Wicklow Old High light (annually); Clare Island. Tarbert has had open days in the past and may do so again. I think Little Samphire Island is either open or is opening. But you get the point. The opportunities are limited. So it is fantastic news that Killybegs Sea Safari in south-west Donegal have announced two new tours departing Killybegs. On...

Carlingford Lough aka Haulbowline lighthouse. I believe the Paddle Steamer is the Waverley This post first appeared in the wonderful Afloat magazine last year regarding the approaching bi-centenary of the Carlingford Lough lighthouse next year. It was written by fellow ALK member, sea swimmer and goatherd (the "fellow" bit only applies to the ALK) Lee Maginnis, whom I met in Belfast last year, and I am delighted to reproduce it here as he is also a much better writer than what I am. Lee Maginnis notes the 200th anniversary of the great granite Haulbowline Lighthouse on the County Louth coast will be in 2024 Haulbowline Lighthouse, that feat of granite engineering sitting on a wave-washed rock in the mouth of Carlingford Lough. Northern Ireland on one side, the Republic of Ireland on the other. Not that the nesting Cormorants on the window ledges know or care. There was another lighthouse on Cranfield Point; it became a victim of the erosion going on a lot longer than many ca...