George Halpin (Sr.) (1779? – 8 July 1854), was a prominent

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

builder, responsible for the construction of much of the Port of Dublin, several of Dublin's bridges, and a number of lighthouses; he is considered the founding father of the Irish lighthouse service. His son, , was also a well-known lighthouse builder.

Biography

Very little is known of Halpin's early life, though it is known that his background was in the building trade rather than in engineering. In 1800, he was made the Inspector of Works for the

Dublin Ballast Board Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin i ...

(the predecessor to the

Commissioners of Irish Lights The Commissioners of Irish Lights (), often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the general lighthouse authority for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their adjacent seas and islands. As the lighthouse a ...

), succeeding Francis Tunstall, and in this capacity was responsible for a number of works.Skempton, p. 293 One of these, the

Bull Wall The Bull Wall (), or North Bull Wall (), at the Dublin Port, Port of Dublin, extending from the estuary of the River Tolka and the district of Clontarf, Dublin, Clontarf out nearly 3 km into Dublin Bay, is one of the two defining sea walls ...

, along with associated projects, led to the creation of

Bull Island Bull Island (), more properly North Bull Island (), is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off Clontarf, Dublin, Clontarf (including Dollymount), Raheny, Kilbarra ...

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay () is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth He ...

, and enabled deep-draught ships to use the port for the first time.Skempton, p. 294 Halpin was appointed the Inspector of Lighthouses in 1810. Between then and 1867 Irish lighthouses increased from fourteen to seventy-two under his direction. He established 53 new lighthouses, in addition to modernising a further 15: his projects included the

Baily Lighthouse The Baily Lighthouse (Irish language, Irish: ''Teach Solais Dhún Criofainn'') is a lighthouse on the southeastern part of Howth Head in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. Hi ...

, the second Copeland Island Lighthouse, and the

Skelligs The Skellig Islands (), historically "the Skellocks", are two small, steep, and rocky islands lying about west of Bolus Head off the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The larger of the two is Skellig Michael (also known as Great Skell ...

Lighthouse. He also set up the Irish lighthouse service's administration and management procedures, regularised employment of

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

s, and continued to oversee the development of Dublin's port. Halpin died in 1854, and was buried in

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount Jerome Cemetery & Crematorium () is situated in Harold's Cross on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. Since its foundation in 1836, it has witnessed over 300,000 burials. Originally an exclusively Protestant cemetery, Roman Catholics have a ...

, Dublin. He was succeeded as Inspector of Lighthouses by his son.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Gillingan, H. A. ''History of The Port of Dublin'', Gill & Macmillen, 1988, , contains an overview of Halpin's career. * Skempton, Sir A. & Chrimes, M. (eds)
A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500 to 1830
', Thomas Telford, 2002, {{DEFAULTSORT:Halpin, George 1770s births 1854 deaths Irish civil engineers Lighthouse builders Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium

Biography

See also

References