Eeragh Lighthouse
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Eeragh Lighthouse is an active lighthouse located on Rock Island, one of the Brannock Islands, part of the
Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...
archipelago in
County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
, Ireland. It marks the north-western entrance to
Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway ...
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.


History

The first lighthouse on the Aran Islands was built in 1818 on
Inishmore Inishmore ( , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 820 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and most populo ...
near Dun Oghil, but it became apparent that it was poorly positioned. Firstly, because it could not be seen at the hazardous ends of the Aran Islands chain, where the North and South Sound approaches were located, and secondly, its location on the highest point of the island also meant it could be obscured in poor weather conditions. Requests from the
Revenue Commissioners The Revenue Commissioners (), commonly called Revenue, is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters. Though Revenue can trace itself back to predecessors (with the Act of Union 1800 amalgamating ...
to the Ballast Board, the predecessor of the Commissioners of Irish Lights to relocate the light went unheeded. But in 1850 the Galway Harbour Commissioners asked the Board to construct a new lighthouse at the north-west end of the islands. To meet this request, it was determined that the best approach was to construct two lighthouses, one on Eeragh and the other, the Inisheer Lighthouse, at the south-eastern end of the island chain. The design of both lights was carried out by George Halpin Junior with construction starting in 1853. They were commissioned on 1 December 1857, with the Inishmore light being deactivated that same date. Daniel Crowe & Sons of Dublin constructed both lighthouses and associated buildings, the cost for Eeragh was £15,126.1s.7d. (equivalent to £ as of ) with Inisheer being £14,252.2s.4d (equivalent to £ as of )


Operation

Eeragh inherited the
light characteristic A light characteristic is all of the properties that make a particular somewhat navigational light identifiable. Graphical and textual descriptions of navigational light sequences and colours are displayed on nautical charts and in Light Lists ...
from the Inishmore light of a 30s flash in a period of 3 minutes, using a flashing optic system from Wilkins of London, whereas Inisheer originally displayed a fixed white light using a
Chance Brothers Chance Brothers and Company was an English glassworks originally based in Spon Lane, Smethwick, West Midlands (county), West Midlands (formerly in Staffordshire), in England. It was a leading glass manufacturer and a pioneer of British glassma ...
optic. In 1904 a new optic was installed which used vaporized paraffin. In 1958 the characteristic was changed to a 1.2 second flash every 15 seconds. Following automation of the lighthouse in 1978, when the optics were replaced again, a number of different power sources were used to power the light. These included a Thermomechanical generator (TMG) which provided electricity to power the batteries for the revolving lamps, with a backup
diesel generator A diesel generator (DG) (also known as a diesel genset) is the combination of a diesel engine with an electric generator (often an alternator) to generate electrical energy. This is a specific case of an engine generator. A diesel compress ...
. The TMG proved to be very useful in maintaining the battery charge, but its maintenance overheads meant that it was eventually replaced with a wind generator in 1983. In 2006 the light was switched to one powered by solar panels and its range reduced to 18 nautical miles. The tower made of tough limestone was originally painted white with two red bands, but in 1932 the bands were painted black.


Listed buildings

The lighthouse tower and associated houses are all listed within the
National Inventory of Architectural Heritage The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) maintains a central database of the architectural heritage of the Republic of Ireland covering the period since 1700 in complement to the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, which focuses on arc ...
, where it is noted “This lighthouse, with its typically flared walls and roof lantern, performed the critical function of safeguarding mariners along the coast around the west end of Aran. The accompanying lighthouse keepers' houses complete an interesting ensemble of maritime heritage interest.”


See also

*
List of lighthouses in Ireland This is a list of lighthouses in Ireland. The Commissioners of Irish Lights are responsible for the majority of marine navigation aids around the island though a small number are maintained by local harbour authorities. The main list identifie ...


References

{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1857 Lighthouses in the Republic of Ireland Lighthouses on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage