Blackrock (Mayo) Lighthouse
In the last edition of Beam, Frank Pelly described the work of refurbishing the dwelling at Blackrock Mayo Lighthouse. This has been successfully completed and in March 1999 the dwelling was ready for occupation, to enable phase two of the re-equip project to proceed.

Blackrock Mayo previously had an acetylene-powered lighting apparatus with a mantle changer, housed in a third order optic in which the lens was rotated by the pressure of the gas passing to the burner.

This has been replaced with a PRL400 electric lantern and 35 watt discharge lamp supplied by Pelangi to give a 20 nautical mile range white light with 16 nautical mile red sector. Further details are given in Thomas Briscoe's article in this edition of Beam.

The monitoring equipment has been replaced with an energy efficient Datac 932 unit which communicates directly to the monitoring centre in Dun Laoghaire through the cellular mobile phone system. The station equipment is powered by twenty four 50 watt solar panels charging a 24 volt 6,600 Ampere-hour (Ah) lead acid battery. A diesel generator is provided for back-up power, for conditioning the dwelling, and for use by visiting personnel.

Copper Point Lighthouse & Bull Rock Perch
Copper Point Lighthouse, Co Cork has also been converted from acetylene gas to solar electric operation. The gas lantern was replaced with a similar one modified at the Lighthouse Depot to take a 20 watt tungsten halogen lamp and flasher, giving a light range of 8 nautical miles. The system is powered with two 38 watt Trinity House type solar panels and a 760Ah battery.

A new stainless steel working platform fabricated at the Lighthouse Depot was assembled and fitted on site.

Close to Copper Point, the Bull Rock Perch has been lit using a solar powered light consisting of two 155mm buoy lanterns fitted with 10 watt lamps to give a 4 nautical mile red light. Power is from five 12 watt buoy solar panels and a 760Ah battery.

Both jobs involved scaffolding operations in difficult conditions.

Dun Laoghaire West
Another station converted from acetylene gas to solar electric operation is Dun Laoghaire West Lighthouse. Its range has been increased to 7 nautical miles.

A Tideland ML300 lantern equipped with a 20 watt tungsten halogen lamp has been fitted in the lantern, and the system is powered by four 38 watt Trinity House type solar panels mounted around the balcony railings, charging a 400Ah battery.

Carlingford Leading Lights
Vidal Bank and Green Island Lighthouses, the two lights that form Carlingford Leading Lights, have been converted from propane gas to solar electric power.

A Tideland RL355 range lantern with 6 watt lamps and 28° spreaders has been used at each site. The lights have a range of 11 nautical miles.

Each light is powered by two 50 watt solar panels and a 600Ah battery. The light flashes are synchronised using a low powered radio link between the two lighthouses.

Inishtrahull & Bull Rock Lighthouses
Work is at the design, specification, and procurement stage on projects to re-equip Inishtrahull and Bull Rock Lighthouses with energy efficient equipment, powering them using solar energy.

The General Lighthouse Authorities' Research and Development Section based in Trinity House carried out light intensity tests at Inishtrahull from 5 to 7 July 1999 to determine a suitable replacement lamp in connection with the solarisation programme.

Galley Head
A re-equip project has been completed at Galley Head which included the separation of the lighthouse from the associated dwellings to allow for a non-resident Attendant. The corridor linking the tower to the dwellings was converted to house the equipment, mess room, stores, and wc.

The 1st Order biform lens has been retained, with the 1kW metal- arc lamp now controlled by a programmable logic controller (plc). A new mains failure generating set and battery system, and a Datac 932 remote monitoring unit operating over the public switched telephone network to the monitoring centre in Dun Laoghaire have been installed.

The two Keepers' dwellings, no longer required by the Service, are to be refurbished by Irish Landmark Trust under a lease arrangement that will ensure that ownership remains within Irish Lights. The houses are to be offered for letting to the public as holiday homes by Irish Landmark Trust.

Lower Rosses Light
The job of increasing the range of the light and upgrading the station at Lower Rosses, Co Sligo, is at present in progress. The propane gas light equipment has been dismantled, a temporary light is in operation, and the old housing has been removed. A replacement concrete platform has been laid on top of the existing tidal timber pile structure and a new glass reinforced plastic building has been lifted into place by means of a teleporter telescopic lifting device.

It is planned to mount on top of the structure an ML300 lantern fitted with a 100 watt tungsten halogen lamp, increasing the range of the white light from 10 to 13 nautical miles and the green and red sectors from 8 to 10 nautical miles. A new mains electricity supply cable to the lighthouse is to be laid and the light will be powered from a float-charged battery.

Baily Lighthouse
Irish Lights has co-operated with Dublin Port Company on the installation of Vessel Traffic Service (vts) equipment at the Baily Lighthouse as part of an extensive upgrading of vts facilities in Dublin Port.

The project included the installation of a larger mains failure generating set to provide the necessary additional standby power for the radar and communications equipment installed by Dublin Port, and the fabrication and erection of a work platform and access ladder to the top of the dome to enable a direction finding antenna to be mounted. The system was put into operation in July 1999.

Differential GPS Service
The General Lighthouse Authorities' Differential Global Positioning System (dgps) service, described in Beam Vol 27, has now been operating in trial service mode since August 1998. A verification programme is being undertaken in conjunction with Trinity House Lighthouse Service and the Northern Lighthouse Board to ensure that the availability, accuracy, integrity, and coverage of the system meet the design specification.

The General Lighthouse Authorities' Radiobeacon service was terminated on the 1st February 1999. Irish Lights Radiobeacons at Tuskar, Old Head of Kinsale, Eagle Island, South Rock Lighthfloat, and the Baily were shut down, as were the radio direction finder calibration beacons at Old Head of Kinsale, Blackhead Antrim, and Baily. The Radiobeacons at Mizen Head, Loophead, and Tory Island are being used to transmit the dgps service but no longer transmit radiobeacon type signals. This is the end of an era in the radionavigation world. Irish Lights Radiobeacon service commenced in 1931 with transmissions from Mizen Head.

Lighting unlit buoys
Our programme to light all remaining unlit buoys continued with the lighting of Blackball Buoy, near Youghal, Co Cork; Cush Buoy, near Schull, Co Cork; Maiden Rock Buoy in Kenmare River, Co Kerry; and Middle Rock and Gola Spit Buoys, near Bunbeg, Co Donegal.

Perches
Major renovation work has been carried out during the summer months to repair corrosion damage on the Lackmorris Perch off Aranmore Island, Co Donegal; the Harbour Rock Perch off Valentia Island, Co Kerry; and the Glandore Middle and Glandore North Perches off Glandore, Co Cork. Each job required an extensive scaffolding operation to heights of the order of 13 metres in difficult conditions.

Maintenance Management
A project is in hand to replace the computerised Coast Book and Plant Record Systems with an integrated Maintenance Management System. A review and redesign of the processes used in maintenance management has been completed and the installation of the hardware and software has commenced. It is planned to have the system in operation by the end of 1999.

A new post of Technical Planner has been established to pilot its installation and to manage the system when up and running.

This system will-

• Allow a more integrated method of engineering work management,
• Extend the job control and history capability of the existing Coast Book,
• Incorporate work planning for all Irish Lights assets,
• Provide access to technical data on line, including plant records, specifications, photographs, drawings, and summaries for all Irish Lights stations and systems.
  
  Maintenance
  The maintenance and repair of lighthouses, lightfloats, buoys, beacons, perches, radio aids to navigation, and fog signals continues around the coast throughout the year, thanks to our civil engineering and building tradesmen, painters, and mechanical, electrical, and electronic technicians and crafts people.
  
  Preservation scheme for lighthouse dwellings
  A highly innovative scheme is set to restore and preserve a number of historic lighthouse dwellings which are part of Irish Lights' heritage but have been surplus to Service requirements since automation.
  
  The Commissioners have agreed that the Irish Landmark Trust may lease dwellings at three stations initially-Blackhead (Co Antrim) built 1902, Galley Head (Co Cork) 1875, and Loop Head (Co Clare) 1854. Over the next few years similar arrangements may be made at St John's Point (Co Down) 1893, and Cromwell Point (Valentia Island, Co Kerry) 1841.
  
  Although the three leases have not yet been signed, agreement on the conditions and financial terms has been reached between the Commissioners and the Irish Landmark Trust. Local land and property owners will be consulted before the leases are signed.
  
  The Irish Landmark Trust is an all-Ireland charitable body founded in 1992 as an educational trust to conserve, improve, and restore buildings of character and architectural merit and, when restored, to let them for holiday use. In 1997 the Trust restored with environmental sensitivity the eighteenth century octagonal lighthouse at Wicklow Head which since then has been in great demand for its high-quality holiday home accommodation.
  
  The National Millennium Committee recently approved a grant of £500,000 to the Irish Landmark Trust to assist them with this initiative. President of the Trust, Nicholas Robinson, expressing his delight at the award, referred to 'the appropriateness of the millennium scheme in terms of the public benefit and enjoyment it proposes, its inclusiveness of North and South and the powerful symbolism of these enduring headland properties that have guided our island's shipping over the centuries.'
  
  Not only will this scheme help to reduce costs and secure the future of a unique part of our maritime heritage, but it will also safeguard the Aids to Navigation functions and allow the leased property to be repossessed should this ever be necessary to enable the Commissioners to fulfill their statutory functions.
  
  Architects have been appointed, and the Landmark Trust hopes to commence the restoration of the two semi-detached houses at Galley Head and Blackhead early in 2000, to be ready for letting by late summer. This will be followed by the restoration of the house at Loop Head in 2001.