By Capain Robert McCabe, Assistant Inspector, who has been delegated to set up a programmed and more structured approach to the superintendence of local aids to navigation in ports, harbours, and on coastlines within the jurisdiction of local lighthouse authorities.

The most obvious manifestation of the service provided by the Commissioners of Irish Lights are the lighthouses and the other aids to navigation which we provide around the coast of Ireland. However, as the General Lighthouse Authority for Ireland our responsibility for the safety of navigation extends far beyond those aids to navigation we operate and maintain directly.

The 1894 Merchant Shipping Act vests in the General Lighthouse Authorities the 'Superintendence and Management of all lighthouses, buoys and beacons'. The same act requires the General Lighthouse Authorities to inspect lighthouses, buoys and beacons provided by Local Lighthouse Authorities and to report the results of those inspections to the relevant government department. However, these responsibilities predate the 1894 Act and Inspection of Local Aids has always been a feature of our work. The manner in which we meet these statutory obligations and the resources committed to them is a matter which has exercised the minds of Commissioners, Inspectors of Lights, and Government for over 100 years.
In 1905 the Board of Trade sanctioned the appointment of an additional Assistant Inspector of Lights to enable the Commissioners to deal in a more thorough manner with these duties. Almost 100 years later, in April 2002, a similar, albeit temporary, appointment has been made and I find myself with the challenging task of inspecting all local aids to navigation within a twelve month period and the introduction of best practice procedures within IALA standards.

With over 1,500 local aids to navigation to inspect this is a fascinating project. The variety of aids ranges from the highest quality modern equipment to wooden stumps which represent dangers rather than aids to navigation. In between are aids of every shape, size, and character imaginable. Associated with each of these aids is a Local Lighthouse Authority which is responsible for it and which, based on the fact that it established the aid in the first place, has in its heart an interest in the safety of the mariner. An important part of my work is to channel those good intentions into the provision of good aids to navigation.

The life of a local aids inspector is as varied as the aids themselves. By their nature aids to navigation tend to be in areas that are difficult to access by land. As a sailor I am comfortable in boats whatever the weather. However, I am far less comfortable when confronted by a herd of obviously disgruntled cattle who resent my inspection of their leading light. The odd bump and bruise you may get in a boat is replaced by nettle stings and briar scrapes. The ability to follow a nautical chart becomes less important than the ability to follow an ordnance map across a featureless bog. On the good days it will move you to poetry and on the bad days drive you to despair.

At the end of the project we will have a comprehensive database of all local aids to navigation agreed with the local Lighthouse Authorities, and have in place audit and inspection procedures to ensure that these aids are provided and maintained to best modern IALA standards.