Black Rock Lighthouse
| Black Rock Lighthouse | |
| |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | F48181558 |
| Location: | 54°4’2"N, 10°19’12"W |
| Characteristics | |
| Height: | 50 feet |
| Tower marking: | White |
| Light: | Fl WR 12s |
| Focal height: | 185 feet |
| Range: | 20 nautical miles (white) 16 nautical miles (red) |
| History | |
| Built 1864 | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Commissioners of Irish Lights |
The Black Rock Lighthouse stands at the peak of Blackrock Island, a bare, starkly pyramidal island of County Mayo. It was built in 1864.
The waters around Blackrock Island are noted for large ocean swells and waves,[1] as evidenced by the difficulties faced in relieving the lighthouse keepers and with Rescue 116 helicopter wreckage recovery in 2017.[2] Water depths descend to 130 feet within half a mile of the island, with depths of 200 feet and less more typical towards nearby Achill Island.[3]
History
In 1830 the Coastguard approached the Corporation for Improving the Port of Dublin for lights to be placed on Slyne Head and Blackrock, north of Achill Island. The subject was referred to Inspector George Halpin who, in his report, agreed that Slyne Head warranted marking but suggested Eagle Island in preference to Blackrock. The Board and Trinity House concurred, and stations were established at Eagle Island in 1835, and Slyne Head in 1836, both with twin towers.
The Corporation was again approached by the Coastguard in 1841 and Inspector Halpin still maintained that Eagle Island was better situated as a sea light, but agreed that Blackrock would be a good guide for vessels seeking shelter in Blacksod Bay, in which case it would be necessary to have another light on Blacksod Point. Nothing further was done until early in 1857 when the Board of Trade queried why lights were required at Galley Head, Foze Rocks (Blasket Islands), Bull Rock and Blackrock. The Inspecting Committee made a full report and in their reply the Board of Trade regarded Blackrock as the more important of the four stations. Trinity House, who were also involved, sent a committee of Elder Brethren over to inspect the three proposed west coast rocks for lighthouses and on their return gave Statutory Sanction for Blackrock.
The Lighthouse
The lighthouse on Blackrock Island was built in 1864.[4][5] The tower was built of stone quarried from the rock on which it stands; the keepers' dwelling is contiguous.[6] It is a 50-foot-high round stone tower with lantern and gallery attached to a single storey keeper's house. The lighthouse is painted white. It is one of Ireland's most remote lighthouses and the most westerly lighthouse off the Mayo Coast. Keepers and their families lived on the rock for 29 years, until dwellings were built at Blacksod, on the mainland, and the station made relieving, in 1893.[6]
The lighthouse was automated in 1974 after which the island became uninhabited. It was converted to solar power in 1999.[4] The resident lighthouse keeper of Blacksod Lighthouse on the mainland, which is still staffed, is also responsible for maintaining the Blackrock lighthouse. Inspection and maintenance visits are periodically made by helicopter (by a helipad on the island), the only way to get to the island on a regular basis. In order to accommodate work-crews on extended maintenance and repair jobs at the lighthouse, one of the old keeper's houses has been restored.[5]
According to Irish writer and broadcaster Bill Long, Blackrock is reputed to be "the most difficult (Irish) Rock on which to land; totally inaccessible at times, either by boat, or by helicopter..."[6]
- "Three generations of lighthouse keepers will attest to this, having waited for several weeks, sometimes months, to be taken off, at the end of their stint on duty there. It is a bleak, barren, inhospitable place, wracked by prevailing Westerly winds, pounded by huge Atlantic seas. For this rock is near the edge of the Continental Shelf, and lies directly in the path of the enormous swell that sweeps inexorably landward..."[6]
Accidents and incidents associated with the island
Loss of lighthouse keeper in 1937
In September 1937 the then lighthouse-keeper, Patrick Monaghan, was swept from the lighthouse by a freak wave. The visit of his descendants to the island is described in the RTÉ Radio 1 documentary Good Day at Blackrock.[7]
Attack by German bomber in 1940
On 20 August 1940, a German bomber attacked the SS Macville which was passing close to the island and damaged several lantern panes and the roof.[8][4] A Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor of Kampfgeschwader 40 was claimed to have dropped two SD250 bombs and damaged a freighter southwest of Blacksod (possibly Macville) on this date,[9] with other sources confirming damage (though no confirmed casualties) to Macville.[10][11]
Stranding of keepers in 1942-1943
Three lighthouse keepers were stranded on Blackrock Island in the winter of 1942-1943 during 'The Emergency' as the Second World War was termed. Storms were particularly ferocious in this period and the landing stage and associated derricks were destroyed in the gales. The keepers, who normally expected to be supplied every 10 days, and had started with reduced supplies due to being subject to rationing in the emergency, were at points critically low on supplies. Captain John Padden made several resupply attempts at considerable risk and supply baskets were on a few occasions successfully thrown to the island. On 17 February 1943, in a short lull in the weather he was able to relieve Walter Coupe (117 days) and Michael O'Conner (~ 90 days). Jack Scott, the principal keeper, remained to direct recovery operations.[2]
Crash of Rescue 116 in 2017
On 14 March 2017 the Irish coast guard Rescue R116 helicopter impacted the island with the wreckage coming to rest in 130 feet of water south-west of the island with four persons lost.
The preliminary report of the Air Accident Investigation Unit had found that (as of March 2017) Blackrock Island had been omitted or had an incorrect and significantly lower height in some terrain and obstacle databases.[12][13]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Black Rock Lighthouse) |
- Black Rock: Commissioners of Irish Lights
References
- ↑ Joly, J (1920). Reminiscences and anticipations. London: T. Fisher Unwin Ltd.. p. 112. OCLC 1052523074. https://archive.org/details/reminiscencesant00jolyiala.
- ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 "The siege of Blackrock Lighthouse". 2017. http://www.advertiser.ie/mayo/article/89383/the-siege-of-blackrock-lighthouse.
- ↑ "Online chart viewer". Marine Navigation App. http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html#12/54.0356/-10.3054.
- ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Tourism / Our Lighthouses / Black Rock (Mayo)". http://www.irishlights.ie/tourism/our-lighthouses/black-rock-(mayo).aspx.
- ↑ Jump up to: 5.0 5.1 Rowlett, Russ: Lighthouses of Western Ireland (Ulster and Connacht) – The Lighthouse Directory (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 5 November 2009)
- ↑ Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Long 1993.
- ↑ "Good Day At Blackrock". RTÉ Radio 1. http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/2011/0613/646705-the-curious-ear-doconone-good-day-at-blackrock/.
- ↑ "Lighting The Emerald Isle: Irish Lighthouses". Lake Effect Living. http://www.lakeeffectliving.com/Feb12/Lighthouses-Ireland.html.
- ↑ Fw 200 Condor Units of World War 2. Osprey Publishing. 16 August 2016. p. 89. ISBN 9781472812674.
- ↑ Second World War Sea War Volume 2: France Falls, Britain Stands Alone: Day-to-Day Naval Actions from April 1940 through September 1940. Bertke Publications. 1 July 2011. ISBN 9781937470005.
- ↑ "General Cargo Ship Macville". http://www.fotoflite.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=NULL&product_id=333903&category_id=2&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=11&vmcchk=1&Itemid=11.
- ↑ Schiller, Robin (14 April 2017). "Island 'obstacle' was not on crew's warning system". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/island-obstacle-was-not-on-crews-warning-system-35622179.html.
- ↑ "Sikorsky S-92A, EI-ICR Black Rock, Co. Mayo, Ireland 14 March 2017 Preliminary Report". AAUI. 13 April 2017. p. 15. http://www.aaiu.ie/sites/default/files/report-attachments/REPORT%202017-006%20PRELIMINARY.pdf.
- Long, Bill (1993). Bright Light, White Water. The Story of Irish Lighthouses and their People. Dublin: New Island Books. ISBN 1-874597-40-5.