Rockabill Lighthouse

Last updated • 1 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Rockabill
Rockabill Lighthouse.jpg
Rockabill in 2020
Rockabill Lighthouse
LocationEast-north-east of Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland
Coordinates 53°35′49.1″N6°00′15.8″W / 53.596972°N 6.004389°W / 53.596972; -6.004389
Tower
Constructed1855–1860
Constructiongranite and limestone tower
Automated1989
Height32 metres (105 ft)
Shapecylindrical tower with gallery and lantern
Markingswhite tower with one broad black horizontal band
Fog signal (4) 60s
Light
First lit1860
Focal height45 metres (148 ft)
Range17 nmi (31 km; 20 mi) (white), 13 nmi (24 km; 15 mi) (red)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Characteristic Fl WR 12s
Ireland no.CIL-0960

Rockabill Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse, on the larger of the two islands that form Rockabill. The islands lie some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) off the east coast of Ireland, north-east of Skerries, in County Dublin. It is operated and maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. [1]

Contents

History

In 1837 the Drogheda Harbour Commissioners proposed that a lighthouse be built on Rockabill, with the costs to be paid by tolls on the shipping using Drogheda harbour. In 1838, Trinity House, which was then in charge of lights in Ireland, declined the request. In 1853 however the Trinity Board reversed its decision and authorized the construction of the lighthouse. Construction began in 1855 under the supervision of the Burgess brothers, William and James, who were builders from Limerick. The lighthouse tower was built 1855–1860 of granite from the Mourne Mountains in County Down and local limestone from Milverton. The total cost of all buildings and equipment was £13,248. [2] The light was placed into operation on 1 July 1860. [2] [1]

The focal plane of the lantern is 45 metres (148 ft) above the sea. [1] The round lighthouse tower is built of granite and is 32 metres (105 ft) high, including the lantern and gallery. [1] The light tower is painted white with one broad black horizontal band. [1] In 1918, the station was also equipped with a fog horn, which gives four blasts every minute. [2] [1] A keeper's residence and other buildings are located at the station, which is operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. [1] The lighthouse was automated in March 1989. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop Rock</span> Skerry in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cornwall, England

The Bishop Rock is a skerry off the British coast in the northern Atlantic Ocean known for its lighthouse. It is in the westernmost part of the Isles of Scilly, an archipelago 45 kilometres off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The Guinness Book of Records lists it as the world's smallest island with a building on it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fastnet Lighthouse</span> Island off the southwest coast of Ireland

Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54-metre-tall (177 ft) 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockabill</span>

Rockabill is a pair of islands in the western Irish Sea about 6 kilometres east-north-east of Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hook Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

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, and marks the eastern entrance to Waterford Harbour. The current structure has stood for over 800 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site</span> Lighthouse

Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Site, on Fisgard Island at the mouth of Esquimalt Harbour in Colwood, British Columbia, is the site of Fisgard Lighthouse, the first lighthouse on the west coast of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Lynas Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Anglesey, Wales

Point Lynas Lighthouse is located on a headland in Llaneilian Community, on the north-east corner of Anglesey in North Wales. A pilot station was established on the point in 1766, to guide ships entering and leaving Liverpool, with an associated lighthouse added in 1779. The present building was built on the hilltop in 1835, so does not need a tower. Built and managed by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, it did not come under the care of Trinity House until 1973. By 2001 the lights were fully automated, so no resident staff were needed. Whilst the light is retained in operational use, the building and associated lighthouse keepers cottages were returned to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board who sold them to be a private home and holiday accommodation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Start Point Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in south Devon, England

Start Point lighthouse was built in 1836 to protect shipping off Start Point, Devon, England. Open to the public in summer months, it is owned and operated by Trinity House. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryport Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Maryport Lighthouse is a small lighthouse located in Maryport, Cumbria, England, formerly run by England's general lighthouse authority, Trinity House. It is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoky Cape Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in New South Wales, Australia

Smoky Cape Lighthouse is a heritage-listed active lighthouse located on Smoky Cape, a headland in Arakoon east of the town of South West Rocks, Kempsey Shire, New South Wales, Australia, and within the Hat Head National Park. It directs boats towards the entrance to the Macleay River, which is located just to the north of the lighthouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skerries Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Anglesey, Wales

The Skerries Lighthouse was first lit on the highest point of the largest island in The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey after 1716. A patent for the lighthouse was subsequently obtained in 1824. The builder was William Trench, who lost his son off the rocks and died in debt in 1725. He is said to have originally been allowed a pension from the Post Office, rather than payment from shipping tolls. An act of 1730 allowed his son-in-law, Sutton Morgan, to increase the dues charged for shipping and confirmed the patent on the light to Morgan's heirs forever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vibberodden Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Vibberodden Lighthouse is a harbour lighthouse located in the municipality of Eigersund in Rogaland county, Norway. It was first lit in 1855, and automated in 1977. The lighthouse is located on the small island of Vibberodden, just southeast of the shore of the island of Eigerøya, marking the west side of the entrance to a narrow fjord leading to the town of Egersund. The lighthouse operates in coordination with Eigerøy Lighthouse and guides boats into the southern entrance to the Egersund harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitby Lighthouse</span> Grade II listed lighthouse in the United Kingdom

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heugh Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in County Durham, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haulbowline Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in County Down, Northern Ireland

The Haulbowline Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse. Described as an "elegant, tapering stone tower" it is located at the entrance to Carlingford Lough, near Cranfield Point in County Down, Northern Ireland. The lighthouse was built on the eastern part of the Haulbowline rocks, one of a number of navigation hazards at the seaward end of Carlingford Lough, which include a notable rocky shoal or bar across the mouth of the lough. The multi-purpose light was designed to help mark the rocks and, when first built, the depth of water over the bar, as well as acting as a landfall light for ships entering from the Irish Sea. Associated with the lighthouse are the leading lights at Green Island and Vidal Bank which mark the safe channel along Carlingford Lough, with Haulbowline displaying a reserve light in case of problems with these leading lights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cantick Head Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Orkney Islands, Scotland

The Cantick Head Lighthouse is an active 19th century lighthouse on the Scottish island of South Walls in the Orkney Islands. It is located at the end of Cantick Head, a long peninsula on the south-eastern coast of South Walls that overlooks the Pentland Firth and the Sound of Hoxa, which forms the southern entry to the natural harbour of Scapa Flow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackhead Lighthouse</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inisheer Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Galway Bay, Ireland

The Inisheer, Inis Oírr or Fardurris Point Lighthouse, is an active 19th century lighthouse located on the island of Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands, in County Galway, Ireland. It marks the south-eastern entrance to Galway bay and the port of Galway known as the South Sound, with a red sector of the light marking the Finnis Rock. The Eeragh Lighthouse which marks the North Sound entrance to the bay on the north-western side of the islands, was also constructed at the same time. Inisheer and Eeragh both became operational in 1857.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straw Island Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in the Aran Islands, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howth Harbour Lighthouse</span> Historic lighthouse at Howth Harbour, Ireland

The Harbour lighthouse in Howth is a historic aid to navigation situated on the East pier of the harbour. It was built in the early 19th century to help guide shipping into the newly constructed harbour, which acted as the terminus for the packet service between Ireland and England. In 1982 it was decommissioned and replaced by a modern pole light on an adjacent extension of the pier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mew Island Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Northern Ireland

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Eastern Ireland (Leinster)". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Rockabill Lighthouse | Rockabill Lighthouse, SkerriesHomepage". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2013.