Lighthouse Automation Complete
M.B. McStay, Engineer-in-Chief
TWELVE years ago we embarked on an engineering programme to
automate the 22 remaining watched lighthouses around the coast of
Ireland. At the end of March 1997 this programme was completed on
time and within budget, which reflects great credit on the
engineering team responsible for the design and installation
work.
There are now no Lightkeepers on the coast. All our major lighthouses are remotely controlled and monitored from the central monitoring facility in the Lighthouse Depot, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. The automated lighthouses are performing very well and we continue to provide the same high standard of service to the mariner.
When visiting an offshore station now there is no longer a hearty welcome from the Keepers and no already warmed cosy dwelling in which to take shelter. This is the price to be paid for progress and for the necessity to achieve reductions in the cost of operating the Lighthouse Service.
We now appreciate just how much our diligent Keepers contributed to the smooth running of a station, performing all the small day to day repairs to equipment and buildings which have the potential to become major problems when left unattended. It is certainly true that much more work has devolved onto our maintenance personnel.
Baily
The Baily Lighthouse was the last station to be automated, ending a tradition of lightkeeping at Howth Head which started with a coal burning beacon in 1667. The first tower was built in 1790 high up on the hill above the present lighthouse. It was fitted with six Argand oil lamps, each with a silvered copper parabolic reflector. The reflectors directed the light through six bulls eye panes of glass set in the lantern, which acted as crude lenses.
Because of its position high on the hill of Howth this lighthouse was frequently shrouded in low cloud or mist, and so it was replaced by the existing tower established on 17th March 1814 lower down on the headland at the Little Baily.
Over the centuries there have been many technological developments in light apparatus and fog signal equipment aimed at improving their performance and range. Because of its importance at the north entrance to the port of Dublin many of these developments found an application at the Baily Lighthouse.
Today the Baily is fitted with a light, a radiobeacon and a radio calibration beacon, and it is the shore base station for the equipment used to monitor the Kish Bank and Rockabill Lighthouses. The Baily also remains the base for helicopter operations to these stations.
It is intended that in the near future the Dublin Port Company will site their Vessel Traffic System (vts) surveillance radar for the port of Dublin at the Baily Lighthouse.
Corlis Point
The installation of the new leading lights at Corlis Point is well advanced and, weather permitting, they should be completed and commissioned by the end of March 1998. This new aid to navigation will operate 24 hours a day and assist shipping to navigate the narrow waters between Kilcredaune Point and Kilconly Point.
Muglins
Converting Muglins Lighthouse to solar power
The Muglins light, at the entrance to Dublin Bay, has been converted to solar power. This has increased the nominal range of the light from 8 to 11 nautical miles, which should make it much more effective against the background lighting on shore which has increased in recent years.
Blackrock Mayo
The project to convert Blackrock Mayo Lighthouse to solar power and to replace the existing gas-powered optic is in the equipment procurement phase. Blackrock Mayo is one of the bleakest rock stations on the west coast and it can be difficult to land there in stormy weather even by helicopter. As part of the solarisation project it will be necessary to refurbish part of the old dwelling as a shelter for visiting personnel.
Blackhead Antrim and Galley Head
At Blackhead Antrim the tower has been separated from the Attendant's dwelling and the station has been prepared for unattended operation and remote control and monitoring when the present Attendant retires.
Next year the tower and link corridor at Galley Head will be separated from the dwellings and this station will also be prepared for unattended operation and remote control and monitoring by the end of 1998.
Differential Global Positioning System
The three General Lighthouse AuthoritiesIrish Lights, Northern Lights and Trinity House - are collaborating in setting up and operating a Differential Global Positioning System (dgps) network covering the waters around Ireland and Great Britain. This radio network will transmit free uncoded differential corrections to satellite signals which will enable vessels equipped with suitable receivers to determine their position with an absolute accuracy of ± 10 metres, with operational availability of 99.8%. Three Irish radiobeacon stations, Tory Island, Loophead and Mizen Head, will transmit the dgps signals in parallel with their radiobeacon transmissions and the new dgps network should come on stream during 1998 - 99.
The future
A review of major lighthouse stations is now being conducted to identify ways of further reducing running costs by developing a programme of investment in more energy efficient equipment with lower maintenance requirements. Such equipment would be powered by renewable energy sources, thus reducing our dependency on fossil fuels which are costly to deliver to offshore stations and environmentally unfriendly.
Acknowledgement: I wish to acknowledge the historical references to the Baily which were compiled by retired colleague Michael Costeloe.
There are now no Lightkeepers on the coast. All our major lighthouses are remotely controlled and monitored from the central monitoring facility in the Lighthouse Depot, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin. The automated lighthouses are performing very well and we continue to provide the same high standard of service to the mariner.
When visiting an offshore station now there is no longer a hearty welcome from the Keepers and no already warmed cosy dwelling in which to take shelter. This is the price to be paid for progress and for the necessity to achieve reductions in the cost of operating the Lighthouse Service.
We now appreciate just how much our diligent Keepers contributed to the smooth running of a station, performing all the small day to day repairs to equipment and buildings which have the potential to become major problems when left unattended. It is certainly true that much more work has devolved onto our maintenance personnel.
Baily
The Baily Lighthouse was the last station to be automated, ending a tradition of lightkeeping at Howth Head which started with a coal burning beacon in 1667. The first tower was built in 1790 high up on the hill above the present lighthouse. It was fitted with six Argand oil lamps, each with a silvered copper parabolic reflector. The reflectors directed the light through six bulls eye panes of glass set in the lantern, which acted as crude lenses.
Because of its position high on the hill of Howth this lighthouse was frequently shrouded in low cloud or mist, and so it was replaced by the existing tower established on 17th March 1814 lower down on the headland at the Little Baily.
Over the centuries there have been many technological developments in light apparatus and fog signal equipment aimed at improving their performance and range. Because of its importance at the north entrance to the port of Dublin many of these developments found an application at the Baily Lighthouse.
Today the Baily is fitted with a light, a radiobeacon and a radio calibration beacon, and it is the shore base station for the equipment used to monitor the Kish Bank and Rockabill Lighthouses. The Baily also remains the base for helicopter operations to these stations.
It is intended that in the near future the Dublin Port Company will site their Vessel Traffic System (vts) surveillance radar for the port of Dublin at the Baily Lighthouse.
Corlis Point
The installation of the new leading lights at Corlis Point is well advanced and, weather permitting, they should be completed and commissioned by the end of March 1998. This new aid to navigation will operate 24 hours a day and assist shipping to navigate the narrow waters between Kilcredaune Point and Kilconly Point.
Muglins
Converting Muglins Lighthouse to solar power
The Muglins light, at the entrance to Dublin Bay, has been converted to solar power. This has increased the nominal range of the light from 8 to 11 nautical miles, which should make it much more effective against the background lighting on shore which has increased in recent years.
Blackrock Mayo
The project to convert Blackrock Mayo Lighthouse to solar power and to replace the existing gas-powered optic is in the equipment procurement phase. Blackrock Mayo is one of the bleakest rock stations on the west coast and it can be difficult to land there in stormy weather even by helicopter. As part of the solarisation project it will be necessary to refurbish part of the old dwelling as a shelter for visiting personnel.
Blackhead Antrim and Galley Head
At Blackhead Antrim the tower has been separated from the Attendant's dwelling and the station has been prepared for unattended operation and remote control and monitoring when the present Attendant retires.
Next year the tower and link corridor at Galley Head will be separated from the dwellings and this station will also be prepared for unattended operation and remote control and monitoring by the end of 1998.
Differential Global Positioning System
The three General Lighthouse AuthoritiesIrish Lights, Northern Lights and Trinity House - are collaborating in setting up and operating a Differential Global Positioning System (dgps) network covering the waters around Ireland and Great Britain. This radio network will transmit free uncoded differential corrections to satellite signals which will enable vessels equipped with suitable receivers to determine their position with an absolute accuracy of ± 10 metres, with operational availability of 99.8%. Three Irish radiobeacon stations, Tory Island, Loophead and Mizen Head, will transmit the dgps signals in parallel with their radiobeacon transmissions and the new dgps network should come on stream during 1998 - 99.
The future
A review of major lighthouse stations is now being conducted to identify ways of further reducing running costs by developing a programme of investment in more energy efficient equipment with lower maintenance requirements. Such equipment would be powered by renewable energy sources, thus reducing our dependency on fossil fuels which are costly to deliver to offshore stations and environmentally unfriendly.
Acknowledgement: I wish to acknowledge the historical references to the Baily which were compiled by retired colleague Michael Costeloe.