THE LAST bulb from a late 19th-century lighthouse was presented to Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney yesterday when he inspected its 21st-century replacement in Bantry Bay.
In a stiff northeasterly gale, Mr Coveney took to sea on the Irish Lights ship Granuaile to view the new stainless steel tower on Roancarrigmore at the eastern entrance to Castletownbere, Co Cork.
Mr Coveney later opened a €40 million pier development at Castletownbere, Co Cork.
Indicating that the word “lighthouse” may soon disappear from the lexicon, the new tower replaced a 165-year-old station, and has no need for dwellings to house lightkeepers.
The beacon runs automatically, and is fitted with solar panels and a light-emitting diode or semi-conductor light source.
It has been billed as the first in a “new generation” of navigational lights around the 7,800km coastline.
Roancarrigmore has had a lighthouse since 1847.
Significantly, Limerick companies built both the original 1847 tower and fabricated its stainless steel replacement, according to the Commissioners of Irish
Lights.
The organisation, which has its first female chief executive, Yvonne Shields, is the general lighthouse authority for the entire island of Ireland and “adjacent seas and islands”.
It provides 73 lighthouses, 121 buoys, 33 beacons and 99 radio aids to navigation, and is responsible for the management of some 4,000 local aids.
Mr Coveney opened the €39.5 million Dinish wharf development on Dinish Island at Castletownbere fishery harbour centre, which is expected to benefit Irish boats, but also many Spanish and French vessels working in these waters with larger quotas.
The Minister also marked the publication of a community-led economic survey.
A stakeholder group to identify employment opportunities has been initiated as part of the survey.
