The Inishowen Maritime Museum (and Planetarium)

The Foreland buoy which once sat at the entrance of Belfast Lough. There is/was a Foreland Buoy sitting outside the Mizen Centre in county Cork for many years. I have no idea if this buoy is the same one, and it has been transferred to Greencastle, or another one

The price to pay for getting to see the lighthouses on Inishtrahull was a long journey up and a long journey back. Landing back at Bunagee Pier in beautiful sunshine, I was half minded to drive straight back and get it over with but decided that I had long wanted to see the Inishowen Maritime Museum in nearby Greencastle and God only knew how long it would be before I was up this way again.

I have to say, I made the right decision. The Museum is situated on the front at Greencastle, looking out over the harbour. Don't take the road to the harbour if the ferry to county Derry is in or you'll end up blocked in. Take the little road to the front a couple of hundred yards south and turn left!

For many years, I used to dread museums. Boring. Rather be out playing football. But now, it appears I am actually growing up, at least in this aspect.
The museum is small, on two floors. Plenty of reading, plenty of exhibits. I particularly liked the Greencastle yawl and would have liked to read more about it, as it seems every stretch of coastline in Ireland had its own style of boat but the long journey beckoned and I went upstairs to the lighthouse section.

It contained quite a number of exhibits, including semaphore bats, which I'd only ever seen pictures of. There were photographs of local keepers at Shroove and information about them. I learned that a keeper called JJ 'Sean' Doherty also worked on Eagle Island in 1987-88. Good job I hadn't finished that book. There were parabolic reflectors and racons and sun valves and a fog signal timing mechanism and other pieces of equipment I didn't really understand. But it was nice to put a face on the name.

Outside there was a Tunn's Buoy Lantern Unit, various buoys, a mushroom anchor thingy and a bell buoy. 

The only thing that disappointed me was that I was the only person in the place. I mentioned it to the girl on the desk and she said it was maybe a combination of the good weather and the All-Ireland Final. Normally on a Sunday its busier, she said. For €6, it was great value for money and the next time up, whenever that may be, I'll certainly spend more time there.

By the way, I never got to see the planetarium, but doubtless it's full of interesting planets.