Kieran’s Our City, Our Town Article,
Cork Independent, 22 May 2025
History Events at European Maritime Days to Play
European Maritime Days to Play is a free public event on Friday 23 May and Saturday 24 May to celebrate Cork City Council and the Government of Ireland hosting the prestigious conference, European Maritime Day (EMD) from 21-23 May.
As part of the European Maritime Days to Play there will be an exhibition on the history of Irish Lighthouses from 1786 and a series of history talks. The Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) will host a display of their equipment and artifacts which will include static lighthouse equipment, a history of the Irish Lights from 1786, a small wreck marking buoy, static model of vessel maps and helicopter operations equipment.
The public will also be able to board the ILV (Irish Lights Vessel) Granuaile which serves CIL “aids to navigation management and maintenance” programme.
History wise, in 1894 Westminster’s Merchant Shipping Act 1894 consolidated the statutory powers of the Commissioners of Irish Lights as one of the three general lighthouse authorities in Ireland and Great Britain.
Today the Commissioners of Irish Lights operate and preserve the majority of the aids to navigation around the Irish coastline. This comprises 64 lighthouses, 20 beacons and over 100 buoys. It also operates more than 100 automatic identification system transmitters, and 23 radar beacons.
There are two notable historical light aids connected to the Commissioners in Cork Harbour – Roches Point Lighthouse and Daunt Rock Light Ship.
In relation to Roches Point lighthouse a letter dated 28 August 1813 from Vice-Admiral Thornborough of Trent, Cork Harbour, was read to the ballast board on 2 September 1813. In this letter he pointed out the danger in which vessels were put when frequenting Cork Harbour for want of a lighthouse at the entrance. A small lighthouse was working by June 1817 but its tower was not conducive to a major harbour of refuge and port, and in 1835 it was replaced by the present larger tower.
The year 1864 coincided with further additions to the lighthouse. In September 1864 it was decided by the ballast office in Dublin that the lantern at Roche’s Point lighthouse be changed to a red revolving light, showing its ‘greatest brilliancy once in every minute’. It came into effect on 1 December 1864. On the evening of 1 October 1864, a fixed white light was exhibited from the base of the lighthouse (a second light to the red one).
On 1 September 1876 two further improvements were made. The red revolving light in the lantern of Roche’s Point lighthouse was changed to an intermittent white light, showing bright for 16 seconds, and suddenly eclipsed for 5 seconds. This gave a brighter and more easily distinguishable light. The other improvement was the substitution of a larger fog bell hung from a belfry and sounded twice in a minute, for that which had hitherto hung at the basement of the lighthouse and was sounded eight times per minute.
By the early twentieth century, Roche’s Point had a fixed light 60ft above high water with a visibility of 13 miles. It also has a recurring light, 98ft above high water, which can be seen 15 miles away in clear weather.
By July 1970, Roche’s Point lighthouse was all electric, with a mandley generator to take over in case of an electricity supply board (ESB) power failure. Formerly, the light functioned by use of vaporised oil through a special-type regenerative burner. the power of the light was also increased to being white 46,000 candelas and red 9,000 candelas.
By 30 March 1995, the presence of somebody physically watching out for mariners disappeared forever, at 11am when the three lighthouse keepers left the facility for good. The workings of the equipment became automated and were to be monitored from a lighthouse depot in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.
Daunt’s Rock is between 4 and 5 miles from Roche’s Point and was named after a Captain daunt whose British man-of-war ship hit the rocks and sank in the earlier part of the nineteenth century. Up to 1865, it was beyond the limit assigned to the Harbour of Cork by the British navy. It was not marked on the Admiralty Chart of Cork Harbour. In April 1864, following the smashing of the ship City of Cork upon the rock, the Board of Trade strongly urged the rock be removed as soon as possible. They proposed, until its removal was implemented, to protect it by a light-ship. engineer Sir John Benson was requested to make an accurate survey of the rock.
By June 1865, a bell boat beacon was placed to mark the position of Daunt’s Rock. It was shaped like a boat and was surmounted by a triangular superstructure of angle iron and lattice work, which was coloured black, with the words ‘Daunt’s Rock’ marked in white letters on it. The ball on the top of superstructure was 24ft above the sea, and the beacon was moored within 120 fathoms SSW of the rock and in 12 fathoms at low water spring tides. In September 1874, the British Royal engineers received instructions from the war office to immediately commence experiments with a view to blowing up Daunt’s Rock, although this did not take place. In late October 1896, in a gale, the lightship foundered on jagged rocks to the east of the ship’s position. It was replaced.
Fast forward to early March 1956, the Daunt’s Rock ship Gannet replaced the ship Albatross. the Gannet was the first of a new type of all-electric lightship, which had served for about a year on the kish station, near Dublin. In June 1974, the Irish lights commissioners announced that they intended to withdraw the Daunt’s Rock light vessel outside Cork Harbour and replace it with a high focal plane flashing buoy painted black and white. when the lightvessel was taken away in August 1974, radio beacons were established on the old Head of Kinsale and at Ballycotton. The withdrawal followed the general pattern of Irish lights policy. In the 1970s, four lightships on the east coast of Ireland were replaced by flashing buoys.
Full details of all events on for ‘European Maritime Days to Play’ are on www.corkcity.ie/en/european-maritime-days-to-play/
Caption:
1305a. Roches Point Lighthouse, present day (picture: Kieran McCarthy)
Next May Walking Tours with Kieran (All free, two hours, no booking required).
Saturday afternoon, 24 May, Stories from Blackrock and Mahon, Historical walking tour of Blackrock Village, from Blackrock Castle to nineteenth century houses and fishing; meet in adjacent carpark at base of Blackrock Castle, 2pm.
Sunday evening,25 May, The Lough and its Curiosities, historical walking tour; meet at green area at northern area of The Lough, entrance of Lough Road to The Lough, Lough Church end; 6.30pm.
Friday evening, 30 May, Cork Through the Ages, An Introduction to the Historical Development of Cork City; meet at the National Monument, Grand Parade, 6.30pm.