The Commissioners of Irish Lights (), often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the

general lighthouse authority A general lighthouse authority (GLA) is one of three agencies primarily responsible for aids to navigation in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. They are divided into regions as follows: *Trinity House: England & Wales, Channel Islan ...

for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and their adjacent seas and

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s. As the

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 ...

authority for the island of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

it oversees the coastal lights and navigation marks provided by the local lighthouse authorities, the county councils and port authorities. Irish Lights is funded through

light dues Light dues are the charges levied on ships for the maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to navigation. British Isles Light dues are levied on commercial vessels and larger pleasure boats calling at ports in the British Isles and paid into th ...

paid into the General Lighthouse Fund (GLF) by ships calling both in

and in Great Britain. The General Lighthouse Fund is managed by the

Secretary of State for Transport The secretary of state for transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Departm ...

in the United Kingdom and is split between the three General Lighthouse Authorities.

History

Signal fires to guide shipping have long existed.

Hook Head Hook Head (), historically called Rindowan, is a headland in County Wexford, Ireland, on the east side of the estuary of The Three Sisters (Rivers Nore, Suir and Barrow). It is part of the Hook peninsula and is adjacent to the historic town ...

has the oldest nearly continuous light in Ireland, originally a signal fire or beacon tended by the monk

Dubhán Dubhán was a 5th-century Brittonic priest and pilgrim, for whom Hook Head (originally ''Rinn Dubháin'') is named. The name is from Old Irish Dubán meaning "little dark one", derived from dub "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. ...

in the fifth century. Monks continued to maintain the light until the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

in 1641. King Charles II re-established the lighthouse in 1667. He granted a patent for the erection of six lighthouses to

Robert Reading Sir Robert Reading, first and last Baronet Reading, (c. 1640 – c. March 1689) built several privately owned lighthouses in Ireland under letters patent from Charles II of England. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, receiving a BA i ...

, some replacing older lighthouses, at

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 ...

Howth Head Howth Head ( ; ''Ceann Bhinn Éadair'' in Irish) is a peninsula northeast of the city of Dublin in Ireland, within the governance of Fingal County Council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while the village of Howth and the harbour are on t ...

, Howth sand-bar, Old Head of Kinsale, Barry Oge's castle (now

Charlesfort The Charlesfort-Santa Elena Site is an important early colonial archaeological site on Parris Island, South Carolina, United States. It contains the archaeological remains of a French settlement called Charlesfort, settled in 1562 and abandon ...

, near

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

), and the Isle of Magee. In 1704 Queen Anne transferred the lighthouses around the Irish coast to the Revenue Commissioners. The Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin was established under an act of the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

, the Dublin Port Act 1786 (26 Geo. 3. c. 19 (I)), entitled ''An Act for Promoting the Trade of Dublin, by rendering its Port and Harbour more commodious''. The Lighthouses (Ireland) Act 1810 ( 50 Geo. 3. c. 95) transferred responsibility for all lighthouses around Ireland's coast to the Port of Dublin Corporation, with the lighthouse operation becoming known as the 'Irish Lights Board'. The Dublin Port Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. lxxxi) reconstituted the Port of Dublin Corporation into the

Dublin Port and Docks 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 ...

with responsibility purely for the port, and created the new 'Commissioners of Irish Lights' to act as the general lighthouse authority. These acts, modified by the Irish Lights Commissioners (Adaptation) Order, 1935, remain the legislative basis for the CIL. Irish Lights has moved its headquarters from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to a purpose-built new building in Harbour Road,

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

Ships

''Granuaile III''

Because of the automation of lighthouses, and the use of helicopters, CIL now only operate one vessel, the ''ILV Granuaile'', named after the famous pirate queen

Grace O'Malley Gráinne O'Malley (, ; – ), also known as Grace O'Malley, was the head of the Ó Máille dynasty in the west of Ireland, and the daughter of Eóghan Dubhdara Ó Máille. Upon her father's death, she took over active leadership of the lords ...

. Delivered in 2000, she was built at

Galați shipyard The Galați shipyard (), formally Damen Shipyards Galați, is a shipyard located on the maritime sector of the Danube in Galați, a city located in the Moldavia region of Romania. It was founded in 1893 as the ''G. Fernic et Co Mechanical constru ...

, Romania, fitted out at

Damen Shipyards The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

in the Netherlands. She has a , length of and is fitted with Class I dynamic positioning system. In 2003 she was involved in the recovery of the fishing boat ''Pisces'', which sank off Fethard, County Wexford, in July 2002. She is the third Granuaile to have served with the CIL. The first ''Granuaile'' served from 1948 to 1970, followed by ''Granuaile II'' from 1970 and 2000.

Former vessels

*''Princess Alexandra'' (1863–1904) *''Tearaght'' (1892–1928) – see Kingstown Lifeboat Disaster *''Moya'' (1893–1905) *''Ierne'' (1898–1954) *''Alexandra'' (1904–1955) *''Deirdre'' (1919–1927) *''Nabro'' (1926–1949) *''Isolda'' (1928–1940) (Sunk off the

Saltee Islands The Saltee Islands ( Irish: ''Na Sailtí''; Old Norse: ''Saltey'' ) are a pair of small islands lying 5 kilometres off the southern coast of County Wexford in Ireland. The two islands are Great Saltee (89 hectares) and Little Saltee (37 hectares ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

by German aircraft) *''Discovery II'' (1947–1948) *''Valonia'' (1947–1962) *''Granuaile'' (1948–1970) *''Blaskbeg'' (1953–1955) *''Isolda'' (1953–1976) *''Ierne II'' (1955–1971) *''Atlanta'' (1959–1988) *''Granuaile II'' (1970–2000) *''Gray Seal'' (1988–1994)

Flags

The Commissioners of Irish Lights is a cross-border body, with its headquarters in Dublin. The current flag of the Irish Lights features lightships and lighthouses between the arms of the St. Patrick's Cross. The

St. George's Cross In heraldry, Saint George's Cross (or the Cross of Saint George) is a red cross on a white background, which from the Late Middle Ages became associated with Saint George, the military saint, often depicted as a crusader. Associated with th ...

was used until 1970. CIL vessels in

fly the

Blue Ensign The Blue Ensign is a British ensign that may be used on vessels by certain authorised yacht clubs, Royal Research Ships and British merchant vessels whose master holds a commission in the Royal Naval Reserve or has otherwise been issued a wa ...

defaced with the commissioners' badge and those in the Republic fly the

Irish tricolour The national flag of Ireland (), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour, is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of the flag are 1:2 (that is t ...

Infrastructure

The CIL operate and maintain the majority of the

aids to navigation A navigational aid (NAVAID), also known as aid to navigation (ATON), is any sort of signal, markers or guidance equipment which aids the traveler in navigation, usually nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, ...

around the Irish coastline. This includes 64 lighthouses, 20 beacons and over 100 buoys. It also operates more than 100

automatic identification system The automatic identification system (AIS) is an automatic tracking system that uses transceivers on ships and is used by vessel traffic services (VTS). When satellites are used to receive AIS signatures, the term ''Satellite-AIS'' (S-AIS) is ...

transmitters, and 23

radar beacon Radar beacon (short: racon) is – according to ''article 1.103'' of the International Telecommunication Union, International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) ITU Radio Regulations (RR) – defined as "A transmitter-receiver associated with a fi ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commissioners Of Irish Lights 1786 establishments in Ireland * * Lighthouse organizations Dún Laoghaire Water transport in Ireland All-Ireland organisations Department for Transport