Pete's Irish Lighthouses

On far Cape Clear did George Halpin a copper dome erect, but frequent mischt and dreary cloud ensured its beam was fecked. So began the first draft of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem Xanadu , which eventually deteriorated into some tat about Kubla Khan and his summer palace. The lighthouse was established here in 1818 to ensure that transatlantic ships knew where the southwestern corner of Ireland was and didn't attempt to continue their voyages overland. It was very much a twin of the lighthouse on Inis Mor, the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay. Both were built in the same year; they look remarkably similar; both had a keeper called Richard Wilson for many years; both were built too high; and both were eventually extinguished in 1854 when a light was established on a nearby offshore island. With such an early demise, we don't really know very much about the light, except that the outside still looks in remarkably good condition after 170 years. Thankfully, we ...

  Rotten Island lighthouse (photo John Hamilton) Back in the dim and distant past, it was a problem for lighthouse families at certain stations to access services such as shops and church because of their remoteness from anywhere remotely civilised. If you lived at Mine Head or Ballyglass or Mizen Head, for example, it was quite a trek to do the messages of a Saturday or attend Mass on a Sunday, so a local contractor was hired, on contract, to bring them here and there. This was often the same contractor who ferried the keepers out to the lighthouse at offshore stations. I admit I don't know what the story was for Rotten Island in Donegal regarding dwellings and tenders. Maybe somebody can enlighten me. There were obviously dwellings on the rock in the 1800s and they were inhabited at least up to 1910, as Florence Connell, daughter of keeper JF Connell was born on the island then. But I'm assuming that some time shortly thereafter, the family moved ashore and obviously, from th...

Following on from a recent post about coming across Fanad Farmyard Beer in Lidl, I idly wondered if any other Irish lighthouses were used in the advertisement of beers. And sure enough, Mr. Google was able to provide a few examples. Detroit Liquid Ventures is a company in Detroit who produce three different varieties of their Old Head range - a Red (above), an Extra Pale, and a Milk Chocolate Stout. I'm loving the representation of the Old Head lighthouse with dwellings and perimeter wall on the cans. According to their website, the range is i n tribute to those who came to settle in the Old Head of Kinsale 6000 years ago, our traditional style Celtic ales are inspired by recipes from the Emerald Isle, and those who integrated themselves into Detroit’s rich Irish culture . The Dungarvan Brewing Company have produced a Mine Head American Pale Ale and it features the top half of the lighthouse (or maybe a little less) on all its products. Other products from this company, who are ob...

  All photos by Joe McCabe To all intents and purposes, there are only two real differences between the lighthouse on Achillbeg and the one on the Sheep's Head in Cork. The Sheeps Head has a red handrail leading up the steps to its door, whereas Achillbeg appears to be quite handrail-less. Most people of moderate walking abilities can walk right up to the Sheeps Head and give it a hug. With Achillbeg, people may have seen it as a small dot from Clare Island but not many have got much nearer. Naturally, the reason for the first lies in the second. All photos except the top one are by Joe McCabe  A light was established on the western point of Clare Island in 1806 to mark the entrance to Clew Bay and Westport but, unfortunately, like many of those old lights - Wicklow, Inis Mor, Cape Clear etc - they thought that the higher they put them, the further the light could be seen. Which was true on a clear day but hills attract the mischt and Clare Islaned light was often rendered use...

The elusive North Wall Quay lighthouse on the Liffey Ireland doesn't really have a great record when it comes to ships ramming lighthouses. The Spit light at Cobh has been hit, as has the North Bank light on the Liffey. Belfast had to completely do away with its pile lights because ships were treating them like skittles. Lough Mahon light was carried away in the late 1920s too. But all of these had one thing in common. They were all built on stilts in busy waterways. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one Irish lighthouse that was built on terra firma and was destroyed by shipping.  The North Wall of the River Liffey used to end where the roundabout for the East Link bridge now stands. There was a Watch House there, according to old maps, about where the Point is and this was possibly converted into a lighthouse in the early part of the nineteenth century. The lighthouse (Dublin Penny Journal 1834) It is difficult to follow the many changes pertaining to the North Wall lig...

  This post only touches on the Bull Rock lighthouse in an incidental sort of a way but it gives a flavour of the bird life the keepers would have encountered when this post was written in 1892. It comes from The Field and was written by A.R.C. Newburgh, appearing in print on 2nd July that year. I reprint it more or less in full. We cast off from the pier at Berehaven on May 11 at 5am, and with smooth water and just enough wind to create a draught on our furnace and a strong ebb tide in our favour, we were soon alongside the Bull Rock, a small islet lying about two and a half miles N.W. of Dursey Island and 292 feet high. This is the most southerly breeding haunt of the gannet on the Irish coast. There is deep water close to the rock and in fine weather a small steamer may lie close in to a remarkable arched hole worn by the action of the sea through the island. A good view of the buildings on the east side may be obtained and the effect of the view under the almost perpendicular ...

George Halpin's 1830s Tory Island lighthouse (photo by Aiden Behan) In the history of lighthouses in Ireland, there is one name that stands out. Of course, George Halpin was the name of two of the Ballast Board's Inspector of Works and Inspector of Lighthouses, father and son, so that first fact is not surprising. But this post is about the death of George Halpin Snr, who ostensibly handed over the reins of the job to Junior in July 1854, upon his expiration, though it is likely that Junior had already assumed control long before that, as Dad was either 75 or 79 at the time. Another Halpin beauty - Mutton Island in Galway Little is known for certain of George's upbringing though he was possibly born in the Bridge Tavern in Wicklow Town, wherein I downed many pints in the late seventies and early eighties, before heading up to the Forge, Paddy O'Connors or Fitzpatricks. He joined the  Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin, usually (and thankfully) s...