Pete's Irish Lighthouses

It is now ten years since the good people of Fanad opened the doors of the lighthouse to the public. Whether you go for the tour only, or stay in the lightkeepers' dwellings, you get a taste of how the keepers lived, you see what they saw when they were up in the lantern room, you climb the same stairs that they climbed. It can never be the authentic experience but it has given thousands of visitors a taste of what the job entailed.  Aside from preserving the maritime heritage of the lighthouse and the local area, the project has given valuable employment to local people in an area that can hardly be said to be heaving with investment. And, as anybody who has visited can vouch, they are lovely people too. As part of the ten year celebrations,  Teach Solais Fhánada  is giving ten people the opportunity to stay at the lighthouse. I did this a few years ago with members of the family and it was a magical experience. I particularly enjoyed the walk to and from the local pub (...

  The Maidens (photo Larne Times archive) From the Belfast Newsletter 14th December 1962 John Noel-Crowley (528) was born on 21st December 1936 and had joined Irish Lights in May 1958. He was the son of John Crowley (LK 328) and Amelia O'Connell from Cahirciveen. His brother, Oliver (513), also made principal keeper. Any keeper I ever spoke to about him held him in high regard. Due to the problems of relief boats not being able to get out to lighthouses, and the absence of proper medical supplies at offshore stations, what we regard today as ordinary, non-dangerous illnesses, could be a cause for serious concern for lightkeepers, particularly in the pre-helicopter days.  John-Noel Crowley (1936-2022)

  Oprah chats to the Poolbeg lighthouse about surviving old age in a world of technology. Photo Oprah Winfrey

From the Irish Press 6th October 1937. In 1937, the North Wall pier in Dublin port was extended which, naturally, left the 1904 light sitting uselessly mid-pier. Should they knock it down and build it up again? Not at all. Far easier to get a giant wheelbarrow and move it bodily. Actually, I have no idea how they did it. I move my washing machine by lifting up one side and slipping a sheet of cardboard underneath. Just sayin'... Still going strong today. However, news from Dublin Port is that they are going to shorten the pier, which means her ladyship will be moving again! A previous incarnation 1888 Detail from a sketch 1864 Brocas (which one?) sketch. No date, guessing 1800-1830

From the Robinson Family Album 1906 (NLI) According to the witness statement of Michael Coleman in the military history archives, at this time of the War of Independence, a small company of men had been detailed to watch out for a yacht carrying arms for the rebels that was supposed to land between Old Head of Kinsale and Galley Head. It may have been that this was what the IRA needed the telescope for.

  Haulbowline light c 1905 (NLI) in the days when the tower was painted white Last month, I did a post on time balls , entities of which I had been totally ignorant hitherto. Basically, in order for ship's captains to know the correct time in a port, a giant ball on a long pole would be lowered at 1pm precisely. As exact timing was essential to determining longitude in the open ocean, these 'time balls' were quite widespread for about 100 years from 1829. Researching lighthouses can be seen as a bit nichey, but sometimes it leads you down interesting rabbit holes like these! The only downside, on this occasion, is that anytime I think of time-balls, I think of a group of 'rich weirdos'  gathering underneath them at 12.55, singing Lets do the time ball again. Rest in peace, Tim Curry. The legitimacy for doing a post about time balls on a lighthouse blog was a rather skimpy one – there was one on the roof of the old Ballast Board offices on the corner of Westmoreland...