The Spit Bank Lighthouse close to

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns ar ...

, Ireland is a

screw-pile lighthouse A screw-pile lighthouse is a lighthouse which stands on piles that are screwed into sandy or muddy sea or river bottoms. The first screw-pile lighthouse to begin construction was built by the blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell. Constructi ...

which marks a shallow bank in the navigable channels of lower

Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Ja ...

. The platform was built by the blind Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell (who pioneered the screw-pile technology used), with the lighthouse itself designed by

George Halpin George Halpin (Sr.) (1779? – 8 July 1854), was a prominent civil engineer and lighthouse 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 fo ...

. In use since its completion between 1851 and 1853, and renovated as recently as 2013, the landmark structure marks the boundary of compulsory

pilotage Piloting or pilotage is the process of navigating on water or in the air using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or air ...

for large vessels entering the

Port of Cork The Port of Cork () is the main port serving the South of Ireland, County Cork and Cork City. It offers all six shipping modes (i.e. Lift-on Lift-off, Roll-on Roll-off, Liquid Bulk, Dry Bulk, Break Bulk and Cruise). In 2015, over 11 million ton ...

Design and construction

Though Irish engineer Alexander Mitchell went blind in 1802 (before he turned 23), he patented the screw-pile mooring in 1833, and built the first

s in 1838. These lighthouses included the Maplin Sands Light (1838) and Wyre Light (1839) in England. Based from Belfast, Mitchell moved to Cobh (then called Queenstown) in 1851 to supervise the foundation works for a lighthouse on the Spit Bank. Located in a relative shallow between Spike Island and Cove Fort, the lighthouse replaced an unlit buoy which marked a turn required by shipping to follow

's main navigable channel. Despite his blindness, with assistance from his son and grandson, Mitchell reportedly supervised some of the work directly. Contemporary accounts record how he was personally involved in construction of a number of his structures, transiting to the work sites in small boats, crawling on planks and examining joints by touch. While living in the area, he also befriended logician

George Boole George Boole (; 2 November 1815 – 8 December 1864) was a largely self-taught English mathematician, philosopher, and logician, most of whose short career was spent as the first professor of mathematics at Queen's College, Cork in ...

– who was based at Cork's university. The structure's platform is supported by nine cast-iron screwpiles in diameter and driven approximately into the sea-bed. The main light and octagonal sheet-iron lighthouse was designed by the engineer to the

Commissioners of Irish Lights The Commissioners of Irish Lights ( ga, Coimisinéirí Soilse na hÉireann), 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 ...

. With the foundation work laid relatively quickly, the lighthouse was first lit in 1853.

Operation

Located less than a half-mile from shore, and with no permanent accommodation, the light was managed by keepers who transited from the nearby town of Cobh. A foghorn was added in the late 19th century, and the light updated and automated in the 20th century. In use for more than 150 years, and one of only three remaining screw-pile lighthouses in Ireland, it was repaired following a collision in 1978, and renovated in 2013. As of 2016 it remained a working light, with a focal plane of and white and red light lenses – depending on direction of approach. The

uses the Spit Bank Lighthouse as a boundary marker for the compulsory

of large vessels entering the middle harbour.

References

{{authority control Lighthouses in the Republic of Ireland Lighthouses completed in 1853 Buildings and structures in County Cork Lighthouses on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage

Design and construction

Operation

See also

References