Location | County Cork, Republic of Ireland |
---|---|
Coordinates | 51°31′46.9″N8°57′08.8″W / 51.529694°N 8.952444°W Coordinates: 51°31′46.9″N8°57′08.8″W / 51.529694°N 8.952444°W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1868 |
Construction | masonry tower |
Automated | 1978 |
Height | 21 metres (69 ft) |
Shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
Markings | white tower, red lantern rail |
Operator | Commissioners of Irish Lights |
Light | |
First lit | 1878 |
Focal height | 53 metres (174 ft) |
Range | 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl (5) W 20s |
Ireland no. | CIL-0160 |
The Galley Head Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse outside of Rosscarbery, County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland. [1] [2]
The lighthouse is situated on Galley Head at the southern end of the headland known as Dundeady island at 133 feet above sea level, overlooking St George's Channel and two beaches, Red Strand to the east and the Long Strand to the west. The headland is cut off from the mainland by the ancient walls of the old Norman stronghold of Dun Deidi, an important fortress of the local O’Cowhig Clan.
Although the main buildings were completed in 1875, the site did not become operational until 1878. The original light characteristic consisted of six or seven flashes of white light within sixteen seconds every minute. This was due to the operation of a revolving octagonal optic, combined with a light powered by coal gas burners that were switched on and off every two seconds or so. With a range of 16 nautical miles (30 km; 18 mi) in clear conditions, it was one of the most powerful lights of its time. [1]
The two keeper's houses have been returned to their original symmetrical layout and are offered for holiday rental by the Irish Landmark Trust. Sleeping 4–6 people in each, they are linked by an internal door, so that larger parties (8–12) might be accommodated.[ tone ] Each house has a double and twin bedroom, and a fold-down sofa bed, plus bathroom, kitchen and sitting room. Both houses have adjoining walled lawns.
The station was built in 1875, during the heyday of lighthouse building, and within twenty years of its closest neighbours at Old Head of Kinsale and Fastnet. The Galley Head and the Fastnet have the distinction of being two of the most powerful lighthouses in Europe. The lighthouse displays an unusual landward arc of light because, it is said, the Sultan of Turkey asked to be able to see it from Castle Freke at Rosscarbery nearby on his visit there. The castle, abandoned in 1952 can be seen from Galley as a Gothic ruin.
Galley Head Lighthouse was featured in the music video for "To The Lighthouse" by British singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf.[ citation needed ]
Longships Lighthouse is an active 19th-century lighthouse about 1.25 mi (2.0 km) off the coast of Land's End in Cornwall, England. It is the second lighthouse to be built on Carn Bras, the highest of the Longships islets which rises 39 feet (12 m) above high water level. In 1988 the lighthouse was automated, and the keepers withdrawn. It is now remotely monitored from the Trinity House Operations & Planning Centre in Harwich, Essex.
The Old Head of Kinsale is a headland near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland.
Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies 6.5 kilometres (4.0 mi) southwest of Cape Clear Island and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current lighthouse is the second to be built on the rock and is the tallest in Ireland.
Kinnaird Head is a headland projecting into the North Sea, within the town of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, on the east coast of Scotland. The 16th-century Kinnaird Castle was converted in 1787 for use as the Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, the first lighthouse in Scotland to be lit by the Commissioners of Northern Lights. Kinnaird Castle and the nearby Wine Tower were described by W. Douglas Simpson as two of the nine castles of the Knuckle, referring to the rocky headland of north-east Aberdeenshire. The lighthouse is a category A listed building. and the Wine Tower. is a scheduled monument. The buildings around the base of the lighthouse are the work of Robert Stevenson.
The Baily Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the southeastern part of Howth Head in County Dublin, Ireland. It is maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.
The Hook Lighthouse is a building situated on Hook Head at the tip of the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, in Ireland. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and the second oldest operating lighthouse in the world, after the Tower of Hercules in Spain. It is operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights, the Irish Lighthouse Authority, it marks the eastern entrance to Waterford Harbour. The current structure has stood for 848 years as of 2020.
Whiteford Point Lighthouse is located off the coast at Whiteford Point near Whiteford Sands, on the Gower Peninsula, south Wales.
Longstone Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse located on Longstone Rock in the outer group of the Farne Islands off the Northumberland Coast, England. Completed in 1826, it was originally called the Outer Farne Lighthouse, and complemented the earlier Inner Farne Lighthouse. The lighthouse is best known for the 1838 wreck of the Forfarshire and the role of Grace Darling, the lighthouse keeper's daughter, in rescuing survivors.
Winterton Lighthouse is located in Winterton-on-Sea in the English county of Norfolk. In 1845 Winterton Ness was described as being 'well known to the mariner as the most fatal headland between Scotland and London'. As well as marking the headland, the lighthouse was intended to help guide vessels into the Cockle Gat, which provided the northern entry into the safe water of Yarmouth Roads. The lighthouse was known to Daniel Defoe and is mentioned in his novel Robinson Crusoe.
Roche's Point Lighthouse is situated at the entrance to Cork Harbour, Ireland. A lighthouse was first established on 4 June 1817 to guide ships into Cork Harbour. The original tower was deemed too small and in 1835 was replaced by the larger present tower which is 49 feet high with a diameter of 12 feet.
Whitby Lighthouse is a lighthouse operated by Trinity House. It is on Ling Hill, on the coast to the south-east of Whitby, beyond Saltwick Bay. To distinguish it from the two lighthouses in Whitby itself it is sometimes known as Whitby High lighthouse
The Maidens lighthouses, on the Maidens in North Channel off County Antrim in Northern Ireland, date from 1829 and were built at the request of merchants and a Royal Navy officer. Lighthouses were built on both rocks; the West Maiden was abandoned in 1903 and the East Maiden was automated in 1977.
Flamborough Head Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located at Flamborough, East Riding of Yorkshire. England. Flamborough Head Lighthouse acts as a waypoint for passing deep sea vessels and coastal traffic, and marks Flamborough Head for vessels heading towards Scarborough and Bridlington.
Dungeness Lighthouse on the Dungeness Headland started operation on 20 November 1961. Its construction was prompted by the building of Dungeness nuclear power station, which obscured the light of its predecessor which, though decommissioned, remains standing. The new lighthouse is constructed of precast concrete rings; its pattern of black and white bands is impregnated into the concrete. It remains in use today, monitored and controlled from the Trinity House Operations and Planning Centre at Harwich, Essex.
The Heugh Lighthouse is a navigation light on The Headland in Hartlepool, in north-east England. The current lighthouse dates from 1927; it is owned and operated by PD Ports. It is claimed that its early-Victorian predecessor was the first lighthouse in the world reliably lit by gas.
William Douglass was for twenty-six years an engineer for Trinity House and engineer-in-chief to the Commissioners of Irish Lights from 1878 to 1900. He built a number of offshore lighthouses and was responsible for the design of the second Fastnet Rock lighthouse.
Blackhead Lighthouse is a listed lighthouse built at the turn of the 20th century, near Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It marks the very northern end of Belfast Lough where it opens out into the North Channel that separates Northern Ireland and Scotland. The active lighthouse is managed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights, where it is named as the Blackhead Antrim Lighthouse to distinguish it from the more modern Blackhead lighthouse in County Clare.
Eeragh Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located on Rock Island, one of the Brannock Islands, part of the Aran Islands archipelago in County Galway, Ireland. It marks the north-western entrance to Galway Bay and the port of Galway known as the North Sound. Due to its location it is also known as the Aran North Lighthouse. The lighthouse on Inisheer at the south-eastern end of the islands was also constructed at the same time. Eeragh and Inisheer both became operational in 1857.
Straw Island Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation on an islet of the same name in Killeany Bay, northeast of Inishmore in County Galway, Ireland. Completed in 1878, it was the last of four lighthouses built in the 19th century on the Aran Islands. The commissioning of Straw Island marked the culmination of a lengthy 24 year campaign by the local islanders to have a lighthouse for safe passage into Killeany Bay and the harbour at Kilronan.
Mew Island Lighthouse is an active lighthouse within the Copeland Islands of County Down in Northern Ireland. The current 19th-century tower is the most recent in a series of lighthouses that have been built in the islands, which have helped to guide shipping around the archipelago and into Belfast Lough.