Great Lighthouses of Ireland.

NUTLEY BOY · 24-09-2018 12:53pm #1

I see that a series with above title starting on RTE 1 television starts on Sunday 30.9.2018 @ 18:30.

I think it is a 4 part series.

I don't know if it is a history programme or if it is technical or both !

Might be of interest.

Atlantic Dawn · 24-09-2018 7:22pm

Will be interesting to see the internal living space of the lighthouses, particularly those in really remote offshore areas.

islanderre · 30-09-2018 6:51pm

Excellent so far I think..... some great footage most likely from drones.

Cool to see some footage of the Arklow ship in heavy seas.

jasper100 · 02-10-2018 3:45pm

Interesting stuff.

What is happening with eagle rock, looks like the light has been removed?

I guess they will all be decommissioned in years to come.

You would wonder is there a tourism product there for storm chasers to be helicoptered out to somewhere like Fastnet or Eagle rock to experience a severe storm where you are completely blasted by the storm.

HeidiHeidi · 03-10-2018 10:47pm

Just watched the first one tonight.

Spectacular photography, and really interesting hearing the former keepers talking about the life. A neighour of ours in Donegal was one of the last keepers of the Bailey light (or maybe it was his last station) - I'm only sorry I never got talking to him properly about it before he died.

But I wish they'd name or caption the lighthouses they're showing! I recognise some, but there are ones I've never seen and I'd love to know where they are.

The book "A History of the Fastnet Lighthouse" by James Morrissey is a great read, a really fascinating story.

Dial Hard · 03-10-2018 10:51pm

Oh I must tell my dad about this, he worked for Irish Lights in the dim & distant past and did a stint on many an Irish lighthouse.

L1011 · 04-10-2018 10:19am

jasper100 wrote: »

Interesting stuff.

What is happening with eagle rock, looks like the light has been removed?

I guess they will all be decommissioned in years to come.

You would wonder is there a tourism product there for storm chasers to be helicoptered out to somewhere like Fastnet or Eagle rock to experience a severe storm where you are completely blasted by the storm.

LED unit on Eagle Rock is so small it doesn't need the old head I believe

Tabnabs · 04-10-2018 11:22am

A challenging lighthouse redevelopment project has been completed on one of the most testing sites on the Irish Atlantic coast. The Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) has completed a re-construction and modernisation project at Eagle Island Lighthouse in Co. Mayo – a landmark lighthouse safeguarding Ireland's north-westcoast. The new light is being commissioned today.

This demanding project on Eagle Island consisted of the replacement of the entire upper part of the lighthousestructure using a helicopter. This is one of the mostchallenging construction projects undertaken by CIL in recent years.

Captain Robert McCabe, Director of the Operations and Navigation Services with CIL stated "Eagle Island lighthouse stands 220 feet above the Atlantic ocean, yetover the years waves from winter storms have damaged buildings and equipment in the walled lighthouse compound. Eagle Island lighthouse must provide a reliable and effective aid to navigation in extreme conditions because it is, at these times, when marinersmost require CIL aids. The new light on Eagle Island will provide a high quality, highly reliable 18 mile LED light and, for the first time, an automatic identification system. The solar battery system will remove the requirement for diesel generation with consequent environmental benefits and maintenance savings."

The Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) is actively involved in consolidating its coastal infrastructure which is the latest chapter in technology change that CIL is currently implementing; first came automation, then solarisation and now consolidation. The overriding purpose of consolidation is to provide a low-maintenance, low-energy, and low-cost Aids to Navigation service around the Irish Coast.

Eagle Island's unique location saw the establishment oftwo lighthouses on the island, both completed in 1835.Because of its close proximity to the continental shelfEagle Island experiences unusually large waves and over the years the lanterns have regularly been damaged by waves and water-borne rocks.

Due to these ferocious conditions, a huge storm wall was constructed surrounding the lighthouses. This wall was destroyed by the sea, reinforced and eventually abandoned after a particularly large storm in 1894 when it was decided to abandon the lower lighthouse.

The lighthouse keepers were withdrawn with the automation of the current lighthouse in 1988.

After almost 200 years of guiding mariners to safety, the lantern room and domed roof of the lighthouse tower had reached the end of their working life. The old lighthouse dome, the lantern room, the large glass lens and the bath of mercury in which the lens rotated were all removed. They were replaced with a stainless steel structuredesigned by CIL to withstand the aggressive and relentless marine environment.

This structure was manufactured by Shortt Stainless Steel in Limerick which incorporates a new roof, a guarded access platform and light pedestals. The roof also supports new waterproof and weather resistant flashing LED (light emitting diode) lights.

A temporary works system was also designed to access the previous dome for demolition works. This platformincorporated the means to manhandle heavy equipmentand the helicopter deck on which to land the new dome.Constructing all of this on top of the lighthouse tower was extremely challenging.

Commenting on the success of this unique construction challenge, Captain Robert McCabe of CIL stated "The CIL team who delivered this complex project have demonstrated exceptional engineering, planning and construction skills and made a positive contribution to safety at sea and the marine environment."

https://afloat.ie/port-news/lighthouses/item/23849-replacement-of-crucial-eagle-island-atlantic-lighthouse-by-helicopter-lift

DOCARCH · 08-10-2018 6:57pm

Good episode last night on the design and building of lighthouses, inlcluding the Kish....

....which I sailed round recently.

Really well maintained!

HeidiHeidi · 08-10-2018 10:51pm

Bah, this obviously isn't in the sky planner as a series :mad:

Anyone know if it's repeated during the week?

Tim the Enchanter · 09-10-2018 1:13pm

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Bah, this obviously isn't in the sky planner as a series :mad:

Anyone know if it's repeated during the week?

Its repeated at half seven Thursday evening.

neris · 11-10-2018 1:31pm

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

Bah, this obviously isn't in the sky planner as a series :mad:

Anyone know if it's repeated during the week?

On the rte player to (if you can get through the 2 minutes of ads before and during)

Havent been around the kish in years but remember going round it before and the smell of bird crap was awful

Atlantic Dawn · 14-10-2018 4:03pm

Just caught up watching them, very interesting episode last week about the building of The Kish, I never knew it was all built ashore and floated out and sunk, great engineering for us back then in the 60's.

https://www.irishlights.ie/tourism/our-lighthouses/kish-bank.aspx

HeidiHeidi · 14-10-2018 8:09pm

HeidiHeidi wrote: »

But I wish they'd name or caption the lighthouses they're showing! I recognise some, but there are ones I've never seen and I'd love to know where they are.

Delighted to see they're doing this in tonight's show!

AndyBoBandy · 16-10-2018 2:55pm

DOCARCH wrote: »

Good episode last night on the design and building of lighthouses, inlcluding the Kish....

....which I sailed round recently.

Really well maintained!

I always remember doing the annual Kish race out of Poolbeg when it was still manned. The keepers would always come out and wave at the boats going around.

21-10-2018 8:32pm

Just watched the final episode and loved every bit of the series. Fair dues to RTE, they do really good documentaries.

HeidiHeidi · 21-10-2018 8:33pm

inthehat wrote: »

Just watched the final episode and loved every bit of the series. Fair dues to RTE, they do really good documentaries.

Agreed, that was a fascinating series.

islanderre · 21-10-2018 9:10pm

Drone shots of the Lighthouses was amazing. The Fastnet lighthouse really is a miracle of Engineering.
Delighted they also spent a few minutes on the Granuaile ship.... had thought they would skip over it despite it been a key part Irish lights....

Great overall and the Narrator was great too.

AndyBoBandy · 21-10-2018 9:37pm

inthehat wrote: »

Just watched the final episode and loved every bit of the series. Fair dues to RTE, they do really good documentaries.

And ironicly the series was made by Lighthouse productions (not RTÉ).

NUTLEY BOY · 22-10-2018 12:07pm

Sorry the series is over. Enjoyed it. A proper job and fine example of how well documentaries can be done.

BTW does anyone know where the dry dock was ?

Mefistofelino · 22-10-2018 1:37pm

NUTLEY BOY wrote: »

Sorry the series is over. Enjoyed it. A proper job and fine example of how well documentaries can be done.

BTW does anyone know where the dry dock was ?

Cork Dockyard (the old Verolme dockyard in Rushbrooke, Cobh)

Plumbthedepths · 22-10-2018 2:28pm

Great programmes and the seascape is magnificent in some of the shots. I would like to have seen more interior shots of the lighthouses particularly Fastnet. The attention to detail eventhough it would have a limited audience was incredible, mosaic floors and curved brass.

Stovepipe · 24-10-2018 9:52am

Some parts of the last episode came across as a glorified ad for the Commissioner of Irish lights; the stuff about the ship was interesting enough in it's own right but not strictly about lighthouses, was it? I mean, they didn't follow the helicopter into the hangar to watch it being overhauled. It smelled of a campaign to justify itself, ie, big up the CIL, in case anyone wants to cut funding. The old footage taken by the former Commissioner was lovely; he had a real eye for it. over all, a good show.

beauf · 24-10-2018 10:46am

I would like to have seen more about the service. Like the ports TV show or the Customs one.

NUTLEY BOY · 24-10-2018 11:36am

Stovepipe wrote: »

Some parts of the last episode came across as a glorified ad for the Commissioner of Irish lights; the stuff about the ship was interesting enough in it's own right but not strictly about lighthouses, was it? I mean, they didn't follow the helicopter into the hangar to watch it being overhauled. It smelled of a campaign to justify itself, ie, big up the CIL, in case anyone wants to cut funding. The old footage taken by the former Commissioner was lovely; he had a real eye for it. over all, a good show.

I suspect their view is probably that lighthouse tenders are still an integral part of the overall service.

L1011 · 24-10-2018 11:18pm

The show was done in cooperation with CIL who would definitely have legitimate concerns over funding with brexit due to their cross-border setup. We have funded the ROI operations entirely for a few years now - previously they were part-funded by the UK on the basis that many ships entering UK ports relied on ROI lights and navaids - but they still fund the NI lights. There is some shared tendering and purchasing with the two GB/IOM lighthouse bodies still.

Nominally I believe its still officially "owned" by HM Government also, so there could be significant changes in operations and ownership that some good PR could only benefit. Although it is now a registered charity and charities don't have "owners" as such.

Stovepipe · 24-10-2018 11:59pm

Calling it a charity is probably an act of accounting and political convenience, rather like the RNLI. There is probably no good reason why we don't have an INLI, except for the presence of the North. Depending on volunteers to save lives instead of full time staff is a cop out.

neris · 25-10-2018 10:39am

Stovepipe wrote: »

Calling it a charity is probably an act of accounting and political convenience, rather like the RNLI. There is probably no good reason why we don't have an INLI, except for the presence of the North. Depending on volunteers to save lives instead of full time staff is a cop out.

Its easier to let the Brits fund and run the RNLI here with a bit of pocket change thrown at them from the dept of the marine every year. Beyond the boats and stations the RNLI have some in house set up down in Poole where crews are trained, boats designed and the logistics, spares & gear for all the stations are sent out of. It would take to long and be to costly to try set up a similar Irish lifeboat. Sure alot the yellow packs (coast guard) are volunteers aswell with a heightened sense of their own importance

tricky D · 25-10-2018 2:20pm

Stovepipe wrote: »

Calling it a charity is probably an act of accounting and political convenience, rather like the RNLI. There is probably no good reason why we don't have an INLI, except for the presence of the North. Depending on volunteers to save lives instead of full time staff is a cop out.

We don't have an INLI atm for the simple reason that our funding is nowhere as high as UK-based funding so we need to get a large subsidy from the UK to cover the significant shortfall.

Having full-time staff would just result in them doing a helluva a lot of sitting around, waiting. Only very busy stations like Tower can justify full-time due to their number of shouts.

View Profile · 26-10-2018 1:21pm

Is the series viewable on any platform other than RTE player? I can't stand the low res quality of player.

AndyBoBandy · 26-10-2018 1:30pm

View Profile wrote: »

Is the series viewable on any platform other than RTE player? I can't stand the low res quality of player.

Only other option would be the RTÉ player on Sky. It allows you to download in HD

Great Lighthouses of Ireland.

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