The Harringtons and Calf Rock
by Gerard Harrington
FROM A VERY young age I have been interested
in lighthouses and the Lighthouse Service. My grandfather, John
Harrington, was one of the Keepers on the Calf Rock at the time it
was destroyed in November 1881. My uncle Tim Harrington was also a
Keeper and died while serving on the North Aran (Eeragh). My
father, also John, served on the Irish Lights tenders. Two brothers
and two sisters were born in Mulgrave Street, Dun Laoghaire.
During my school years I spent all my holidays with my aunt Katie and family at the Lighthouse Dwellings at Dursey Sound. Her husband, Pat McCann, was Principal Keeper at the Bull Rock at that time. Their son John Joe also joined the Service, and their daughter Lil married Noel Murphy (their son Thomas is the present Attendant at the Kish). Another daughter, Kathleen, married Tony Kennedy who also served in 'the Lights'. During those years I got to know many Keepers, among them Noel Murphy, Tommy Lawlor, Eddie Meehan, George James, John Roche, Andy Coughlan, and many others.
Return to Calf Rock
For a long number of years one of my ambitions was to land on the ruined Calf Rock Lighthouse which lies some twenty miles west of Castletownbere and three quarters of a mile off Dursey Island. In the summer of 1999 I finally achieved this ambition with the help of Colm Harrington of Bere Island, and my son Gerry, travelling to the rock in Colm's inflatable boat. Despite the calm weather on the day there was a big draw at the Calf, but we made the landing all right.
It was a strange feeling, as we climbed the well worn steps which were cut in the rock over a century ago, to think that I was following the footsteps of grandfather John Harrington who was one of the Keepers serving on the Calf when it was destroyed during a severe storm in November 1881, resulting in the tower being swept away. At the time there were six men on the rock. They were Thomas Fortune, Principal Keeper, a native of Wexford, a married man with five young children; John Young, Assistant Keeper, married with four children; John Harrington, Assistant Keeper, aged 28, married with two children. Also on the rock at the time were John Byrne, a mason from Dun Laoghaire who was on the Calf to improve the landing stage; and his two helpers, John Lowney and John Kelly, both from Dursey Sound.
The story of the ordeal of the six men who were marooned for twelve days in the kitchen of the dwelling, and how they were finally rescued by Dursey Island boatmen under the command of Michael O'Shea has been told many times down the years.
Reflections
All the participants in the Calf Rock episode have long since departed this life, (John Harrington died while serving on Cranfield Point Lighthouse), but the untamed Calf still lives in its wild environment as a permanent memorial to the astonishing endurance, stamina, and courage of our lighthouse men of the past.
As we examined the remains of the tower and the buildings where the men sheltered for twelve days, we marvelled how men ever lived and served there. Strong currents from the north and south rush together at the Calf Rock, producing even in the calmest summer weather such a groundswell that it makes it extremely dangerous to try and effect a landing on the rock, so we were very lucky to pick a day to do so.
During my school years I spent all my holidays with my aunt Katie and family at the Lighthouse Dwellings at Dursey Sound. Her husband, Pat McCann, was Principal Keeper at the Bull Rock at that time. Their son John Joe also joined the Service, and their daughter Lil married Noel Murphy (their son Thomas is the present Attendant at the Kish). Another daughter, Kathleen, married Tony Kennedy who also served in 'the Lights'. During those years I got to know many Keepers, among them Noel Murphy, Tommy Lawlor, Eddie Meehan, George James, John Roche, Andy Coughlan, and many others.
Return to Calf Rock
For a long number of years one of my ambitions was to land on the ruined Calf Rock Lighthouse which lies some twenty miles west of Castletownbere and three quarters of a mile off Dursey Island. In the summer of 1999 I finally achieved this ambition with the help of Colm Harrington of Bere Island, and my son Gerry, travelling to the rock in Colm's inflatable boat. Despite the calm weather on the day there was a big draw at the Calf, but we made the landing all right.
It was a strange feeling, as we climbed the well worn steps which were cut in the rock over a century ago, to think that I was following the footsteps of grandfather John Harrington who was one of the Keepers serving on the Calf when it was destroyed during a severe storm in November 1881, resulting in the tower being swept away. At the time there were six men on the rock. They were Thomas Fortune, Principal Keeper, a native of Wexford, a married man with five young children; John Young, Assistant Keeper, married with four children; John Harrington, Assistant Keeper, aged 28, married with two children. Also on the rock at the time were John Byrne, a mason from Dun Laoghaire who was on the Calf to improve the landing stage; and his two helpers, John Lowney and John Kelly, both from Dursey Sound.
The story of the ordeal of the six men who were marooned for twelve days in the kitchen of the dwelling, and how they were finally rescued by Dursey Island boatmen under the command of Michael O'Shea has been told many times down the years.
Reflections
All the participants in the Calf Rock episode have long since departed this life, (John Harrington died while serving on Cranfield Point Lighthouse), but the untamed Calf still lives in its wild environment as a permanent memorial to the astonishing endurance, stamina, and courage of our lighthouse men of the past.
As we examined the remains of the tower and the buildings where the men sheltered for twelve days, we marvelled how men ever lived and served there. Strong currents from the north and south rush together at the Calf Rock, producing even in the calmest summer weather such a groundswell that it makes it extremely dangerous to try and effect a landing on the rock, so we were very lucky to pick a day to do so.