Pete's Irish Lighthouses

Photo Damien Mcaleenan In early July 1851, a man called Mr Leslie, who was apparently the superintendent for the boring of the tunnel under the barracks, for the Great Southern and Western Railway Company - whatever that meant - purchased a diminutive little screw steamer called Witch . The boat, with a registered weight of only eight tons, had been built in Bristol and was intended to ply a coastal trade around the villages near Queenstown (Cobh) in Cork harbour. On 11th July, the Witch left Bristol in the hands of Mr Leslie and three seamen and that evening put into Swansea. The following morning, she left Swansea and reached Milford harbour. The next morning, the 13th, she left Milford with the intention of crossing over the Irish Sea but, upon sighting the coastline, a gale sprang up and they decided to head for Waterford. The wind however, which was coming from the northwest, had other ideas and blew her away from the harbour mouth back towards the Tuskar Rock off the southeast...

Warren Point (Photo by Chris Newman) Warrenpoint co. Down is a small town on the northern shore of Carlingford Lough and has no further involvement with this article. Warren Point co. Donegal, on the other hand, is not even a small village. It is merely the point where a small headland hits the Foyle estuary. It is situated alongside the fairway of the 12th hole of a golf course and the only building on it is a small lighthouse. In the 1850s, the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners, as was, finally got their act together and started erecting lights from the city all the way up to the mouth of the Foyle estuary. Well, almost to its mouth. The two Inishowen lights were deemed to be sea lights and thus under the jurisdiction of the Dublin Ballast Board but the next light southwards, 2.4kms (1.5 miles) upriver, Warren Point, was at the full extent of the Commissioners' jurisdiction. A lighthouse was built here in 1861 to provide a link in the chain between Inishowen and Redcastl...

Blacksod lighthouse (photo Richard Cummins) The following unnoteworthy correspondence is taken from the War and Raids collection at UCD and rivals the 'Small earthquake in Chile . Not many dead' headline in the 'Move on, nothing to see here' category. Irish Lights Office Dublin 14th June 1922 To PK, Blacksod, You are to forward a special report of the incident mentioned in your Journal for the 19th May, stating that the Station had been raided by a party of men, some armed; and explain your apparent omission to do so in the first instance,                                                                                      Secretary Blacksod when it was painted white! Sir, I respectfully beg to report that this Station was raided on the 19th May at 2.30am by a party of about ...

                                                                                                                                             Photo marinas.com Despite being notable as the last lighthouse established on these shores (I think!), it comes as a great shock to realise that only one of my 600+ posts on this blog features the Angus Rock lighthouse, and that was back in 2009, when I was only dolloping out a quick photo and 'how to get there' info. Situated at the entrance of Strangford Lough where the currents run fast and dangers are numerous, there has been a beacon on the rock for over 300 years but it was never lit until as ...

When you think of Connemara and the business of keeping lighthouses burning on its rugged coast, one family immediately springs to mind - the King family of  Keerhaunmore in Ballyconneely. As well described in Bright Lights White Water by Bill Long - taken from Michael Costeloe's writings in Beam - the road to Slyne Head lighthouse was a long one. Donkeys were used to carry bags, baggage and personnel to the little quay at 'Slackport' and then hardy rowers took over to bring them to the furthest island in the Slyne Head archipelago, whereupon the two lighthouses stood. The lights on Slyne Head were, of course, established in 1836 and it is surmised that the Kings were the first boat contractors to the lighthouse, as well as running the donkey cavalcade. Certainly, they were in charge in 1852 when Thomas King and his brother Festy and nephew (or son) John were drowned bringing an impatient keeper back to his post.  Following Thomas' demise, the Ballast Board contract w...

It would be fair to say that the Stocker line of Irish lightkeepers is one of the longest in the country, dating back to at least 1818 when Edward Stocker was first sent down to the Tuskar. Henry Aquila Stocker was on Tory when the Wasp was wrecked in 1884. Former keepers may remember Stephen and Henry and Lenny Stocker, who were all cut from the same cloth. One of the later Stockers who should really have continued the lightkeeping line was Leonard Vincent Stocker, born at the Baily lighthouse in Dublin on 5th August 1944. He later went on to write a remarkable book called Born on the Edge of White Water, in which he describes his lighthouse life through the eyes of his childhood self. His father was also called Leonard, though Leonard junior was always called Vincent from the day of his birth. In fact he never realised his name wasn't Vincent until much later in life! Leonard retired from Irish Lights in 1958 and Vincent wanted to sign up when he was old enough. Unfortunately, ...

South Arklow lightvessel c.1906. The Relief was sold in 1867 (This article originally appeared in Lamp 142, Autumn 2024) Despite having boasted the world’s second ever lightship in 1736, it was not until the mid-1820s that Ireland invested in her first purpose-built lightvessel when, like the buses, three came along at once. All were wooden ships, built by W. Roberts of Milford Haven and they were named the Seagull (1824), the Star (1825) and the Relief (1826). They were destined for the existing station on the Kish Bank and the two new stations on Arklow Bank and the Coningbeg Rock. The northern and western coasts of Ireland are rocky, while the eastern and southern shores are sandy, hence the need for floating lights (later light vessels) in these latter two quadrants. Many a ship had foundered on the treacherous sandbanks between Belfast and Cork. The ship, which had been positioned on the southern end of the Arklow Bank, now drifted a mile inside the very danger she was supposed ...

Huge thanks to Joanna Doyle for sending me these photos of the best seller Telephone Directory which she found at her parents' house. Joanna, as she has mentioned once or twice, is descended from a long line of Loughrey and Ryan keepers. Tantalisingly, Joanna only sent me a few pages to whet my appetite and it certainly is rip-roaring material, though slightly too racy for my taste. Joanna estimates the book, which is now, incredibly, out of print, dates from the early 1980s. I believe it was nominated for the Booker Prize one year but lost out for reasons of length.