Pete's Irish Lighthouses

  Ballynagard light, on the west bank of the River Foyle It has been a while since I posted about a River Foyle or Foyle estuary lighthouse, which is a shame because this little-known stretch of coastline (in lighthouse terms) deserves much more exposure for the glittering array of lighthouses, pile lights and light-vessels that helped ships navigate their way between the port of Derry and the open sea. The river flows through Derry, where it widens out, before narrowing again and snaking up to Culmore. Just past Culmore, the river turns into an estuary and on the west bank you enter the Republic from the North at Muff, which gives me the opportunity to show this wonderful photo of the highly-fortified customs post at Muff in the early days of our nation. Derry of the Past Facebook page, shared by Michael Burns The Londonderry Harbour Commissioners started to light the Foyle in the late 1840s. The lighthouse at Ballynagard was not one of the first wave of navigational lights but th...

  The Culmore light with the remains of the fort behind. It has its name written on it in case it ever gets lost Culmore lighthouse is situated on the west bank of the River Foyle, about four miles north of Derry, where the river starts to widen out into the Foyle estuary. It is also slightly south of the North of Ireland border with the Republic, though all lights on both the river and the estuary come under the jurisdiction of the (London) Derry Harbour Board. Location of Culmore Point marked with a very amateurish red cross There was a fort at Culmore since the early 1600s and its position on the river would have made an ideal spot to place a lighthouse. Sadly, I have been unable to unearth any evidence that a guiding light ever shone forth there prior to 1848.   In the 1840s, the newly-founded Harbour Board set about a programme of dredging and lighting to make the port of Derry accessible to ships at night. Pile lights were erected along the length of the estuary and beac...

Culmore Point Light beacon is a green round tower with a black base that stands at the entrance to Culmore Bay and the River Foyle. A light was established here in 1848 and the current structure dates from the 1920s. And it is one of the few lighthouses I have come across that is conspicuously marked with its night, in case it should be misplaced, I assume. It consists of a 23 ft conical tower painted white with a green base and stands next to Culmore Fort. One would imagine that local residents 50 years ago would have found the spot idyllic but the aesthetic beauty of the spot has been somewhat marred by the modern and necessary but rather ugly Londonderry Docks across the river and a bloody great pylon . Like Ballynagard , the light itself was formerly displayed through the opening near the top of the structure but sadly this light is no longer active. The lighthouse here has been replaced by a functional nonentity a few metres away (see photo at the bottom of page) ...

Another light visible from Otterbank Road on the east side of the River Foyle is Brook Hall Light, so named because it stands adjacent to Brook Hall on the west side of the river. It is a white 20ft tower on a green base and has a quick flashing green light which has a range of 3 nautical miles. The first light here was erected in 1859. It was a red brick tower exhibiting a fixed light.

Not listed in Russ Rowlett's Lighthouse Directory, the Otterbank (or Otter Bank) Light lies some 200m upriver from the Ballynagard Light (previous post) It marks the eastern side of the channel leading into Derry City. The light is a flashing red with a period of 4 seconds and stands some 20ft tall. 55° 01.9´ N 7° 16.6´ W Photos taken from Otterbank Road on the east side of the river.

From the Port Road, Derry A lot of poring over Google maps beforehand convinced me that Ballynagard Lighthouse and other lights at Otterbank and Brook Hall were best viewed from the east side of the River Foyle. The light was originally exhibited through a window near the top of the structure but that seems to be blocked off now, replaced by a solar powered light on top of it. Focal plane 6 m (20 ft); white flash every 3 s. 7 m (23 ft) concrete tower  Lighthouse painted white with a green base. It has a range of 3 nautical miles From Otterbank Road, Derry From Culmore Point Lighthouse downriver

This rather dilapidated-looking Pile Light is situated off Magilligan Point at the eastern entrance to the River Foyle, reached from Castlerock (previous entry) by a very scenic drive which is spoiled somewhat 0.5 miles from the Point by the appearance of the completely unattractive Magilligan Prison. There is a Martello Tower at the point, a pub and a few holiday homes. There are views of Inishowen Head Lighthouse, Warren Point and Moville, all on or near the far coast in the Republic. The light itself is  Q.R. 7m 4M  and marks the eastern extremity of the navigable channel through the entrance of the Foyle.   55° 11.730´N, 006° 58.055´W

Front and rear leading lights About a quarter of a mile upriver from the entrance to the Bann at Barmouth lies the first of the leading lights that mark the correct approach for vessels heading inland to Coleraine. The front light is situated on the shore, while the rear light sits nestled a further 300 yards south east among the gorse of the dunes. Reaching the front light from the pier involves walking over a couple of easyish dunes and then a short walk along the small beach.  The front light is a five meter high white pyramid metal tower   Oc 5s 6m 2M sitting on a stone plinth. The light itself is 6m above sea level. The rear light is a white square concrete tower, its light sitting 14 meters above sea level.  Oc 5s 14m 2M  Position  55° 9.869' N 006° 46.173' W Chart from In Your Footsteps showing how the two lights combine to guide incoming traffic past the entrance to the Bann The Bann is well served by port and...

In contrast to the substantial light on the east pier of the entrance to the Bann, the west pier is served by two extremely rusty poles, one at the very end of the stone pier, the other twenty yards behind it. Both are suffering greatly from neglect. The one further back (ie, on the right in the picture above) is the main light and it was apparently once green in colour. Its light is  Fl R 5s 6m 2M West pier light with East pier light in the distance