The first Wicklow Head high lighthouse
Anyone who has visited the beautiful Wicklow Head conurbation of lighthouses will know there are two former, and one current, lighthouses on the site. I won't bother detailing anything - its all here.
(Okay, very quickly, the first high and low lights were established in 1781. They were similar in design, though the low light was smaller.
By 1818, it was realised the rear light (pictured above) was built at too high an elevation so they discontinued it and built two new lighthouses. The new high light was built roughly where the old lower light was situated (the old lower light was knocked) The new lower light was built further down the cliff, where it is still operational today.
In 1865, the newer upper light was discontinued)
Old photograph of the three towers on Wicklow Head. Top centre - the old rear light; middle, the new rear light; bottom right, the new, and now only lower light)
Problem was, where exactly had the old lower light been? I had pondered the problem here but, although it is less than an hour way, it was not until Heritage Day 2025 that I got a chance to check. Fortuitously, I met Brendan Patrick Eoin Conway, who is the Irish Landmark Trust manager there, as well as having been a former keeper himself. I addition, he had grown up on the Head as his father, also Brendan, had been keeper there.
Brendan pointed out the 'new' High light out the window. If you look just to the right, from here, he said, you'll see part of the foundations of the old light. Most of the new tower was built on top of the old one but a small portion is still visible.
And lo and behold, there it was - all that remains of the missing 4th lighthouse! It apparently was very similar to the Upper Light at the top of the page, perhaps a bit smaller.
Seeing as the new (1818) upper light was built in practically the same location as the old lower light, I've never been able to figure why they simply didn't use the old tower?
Seaward view from the top of the old High light
Well recommended. Not your usual lightkeeper's book!!
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