Extreme Lighthousing
by John Eagle
For most of my life I have been taking pictures of Irish lighthouses; like a moth I am attracted to the light! The magic of waves crashing on the rocks with a lonely light heralding the danger from the darkness.
It started as a series of holiday snaps: a photo of Roches Point taken on board the Inishfallen, passing the Tuskar as we sailed into Rosslare or going to Skellig Michael and looking down from Christ's Saddle. A collection of lighthouses was forming, and as my interest in photography grew so did my desire to take better pictures.
In the early '90s I started making postcards from some of the shots I had taken which eventually evolved into The Irish Lighthouse Series. In 1996 some of my pictures appeared for the first time on the Internet which exposed my work to a much wider audience than I could ever have imagined. As a result I started receiving emails from people who were coming over to Ireland on holidays asking me to advise them which lighthouses would be good ones to visit. Such was the level of interest that I decided to write a guide book for visitors to the lighthouses. An Eagle's View of Irish Lighthouses was published in 1999.
Around this time I started looking at the possibility of organising some lighthouse tours. I tried various ways of looking into arranging a tour, but each time I got disheartened and stepped back from it. The main stumbling blocks were the high cost of coach hire, and the cost of accommodation. In 2008 I decided to try again and, having sourced a suitable bus, I launched a web page for the tour and waited for the applications to come flooding in. Alas no-one came knocking or, should I say, emailing so I put a note on the website to say the tour had been a resounding success and turned my attention to other things.
In January 2009 I was contacted by a lady, Mary Borkowski, from Michigan who asked me if I could arrange a tour of some Irish lighthouses. She was part of a US Lighthouse Society tour that was starting in Dublin and finishing in Shannon two weeks later. She asked me if I could organise a week long tour of Cork and Kerry lighthouses starting in Shannon. Her group consisted of four married couples and they wanted to see Skellig Michael, Fastnet and as many other lighthouses as I could get them to.
The trips to see Fastnet and Skelligs were easy to arrange and I soon had boatmen and accommodation arranged. I decided we would stay at The Heron's Cove in Goleen for the Fastnet part of the trip because the building gets bathed in the light of the lighthouse at night. All I had to do was get the party out to see the lighthouses on the Bull, Roancarrig and Ardnakinna. A walk on Dursey seemed the perfect solution, we would even get to see the ruin of the Calf and the old temporary lighthouse dwelling at the end of Dursey. Ireland's only cable car would take us there and that would be a thrill for all concerned.
Then two things happened which had a major effect on the tour. Firstly the Dursey Cable Car was taken out of service at short notice because of a technical fault and, secondly, two members of the group pulled out of the trip.We met up in Bunratty at the Castle Hotel where the US Lighthouse Society tour party was staying. I gave a slide show on Irish Lighthouses following which I had an opportunity to chat to the members of the group and listen to their stories about their trip around the north shore.
The first day of the tour started bright and early and soon we were off and driving the lanes of County Clare on our way to Killimer to meet the Shannon Ferry. We took the coastal route along the north shore of the Shannon until we spotted the Beeves Rock. We turned off the road and out came the high powered telephoto lens. It was but a speck on the horizon, but the lenses pulled Beeves Rock in and made the group very happy. I soon realised that if it had anything to do with a lighthouse my guests wanted to photograph it.
And so our tour began, crossing over the Shannon and passing Tarbert in the rain. On the Kerry side we took the coast road rather than drive straight south to Tralee to allow our guests to see as many lights as possible.
We made our way to Fenit, near Tralee, and were greeted with a break in the rain for our walk along to the sea shore to gain a suitable vantage point to take pictures of Little Samphire Island. Then it was south to the Ring of Kerry and out west to Cahirciveen, passing the old railway viaduct on the way which was of interest to one member of the party, Phil Borkowski, who has more than a passing interest in railways.
We took the ferry from Cahirciveen across to Knightstown and visited the slate quarry on Valentia Island. Later we drove through Port Magee and on up the hill to a great vantage spot to view Skellig Michael in the distance. Then it was on to Kenneth Roddy's B&B for a warm welcome and a chance to learn about the lighthouse service first hand from his father Joe who showed us some of his old photographs and kept us amused with many stories.
The following morning we received news that there was little chance of getting out to visit Skellig Michael as the sea conditions were too rough so we decided to visit the Skellig Experience where we were able to view a number of exhibits from the lighthouse. While we were looking round we received word that there was a chance of going out later in the morning but it came with the warning that it might be rough. Indeed it was choppy with a heavy swell and we sailed into waves higher than I have seen before. We ploughed on to the Skelligs and were rewarded with a beautiful sunny day and fantastic views of the rock. Kenneth took us out to the west side of the rock so we could photograph both the old and present lighthouses before landing us on the island for a walk up to the beehive Monastery. That evening we headed down the Beara Peninsula to stay in the Coulagh Bay House just outside Eyeries village.
I felt the next day would be difficult. The plan was to walk from Dunboy to the harbour's mouth to view Ardnakinna, then drive to Dursey Sound and with long lenses view the Calf and Bull-far from adequate but, with the cable car out of action and all the boat owners I had tried unable to help, I did not have much choice. As we were driving into town Thomas Hartnett, the coach driver, spotted a sign near the slip advertising Sean Harrington Sea Safari with a mobile phone number. Following a short phone call he agreed to take us out in his fast rib Ocean Runner, first to Ardnakinna and then west to Bull Rock.
It took an hour to get there in fierce waves. It was very exciting, skimming off the waves and sometimes bashing down between them. When the waves started to get really high I nodded to Sean that we could stop and take our shots of the Bull from there, as we were well within photo range. On the way back we paused by the Calf and photographed the ruin of the old cast iron tower. Then it was east at high speed to Roancarrig to take pictures of the lighthouse. It was during this high speed trip that the phrase Extreme Lighthousing was coined.
That evening I introduced the group to Dick O'Driscoll, who had previously served as a Lightkeeper and Attendant Fastnet lighthouse. Dick and his wife, Moira, welcomed us into their home and gave us refreshments and a great talk on life in the lighthouse service, especially the Fastnet.
The following day, 31 July, we headed south to the Mizen. It was a desperate day weather wise and it looked like our trip to the Fastnet, planned for that evening, was in doubt. Following a telephone call to the boatman it was obvious that there wasn't a chance as he couldn't see the rock from Schull let alone go out to it. Instead, we went to Mizen Head where the group took the tour, walked across the famous bridge and visited the fog station where we forlornly looked south for any glimpse of the most famous lighthouse in the world just four miles away. Not a sign, so we went back to our B&B in the very romantic Heron's Cove and had supper.
As we ate the weather began to clear so we headed off to Crookhaven to take pictures of the lighthouse there. As we rounded the bend before the village we could see a faint glimpse of the Fastnet. Following a short conversation with the boatman the trip was back on for the next day. After a 5am start we were at Schull pier for 7am ready for the trip. There followed another choppy sea journey but it was certainly worth it. Out at the Fastnet to catch the morning light at 8am, with waves crashing onto the rocks, it was excitement like you have never experienced before and the icing on the cake. It was simply fantastic to get out there.
Afterwards we returned for breakfast at The Heron's Cove, before starting the long drive north to Bunratty to return the group to their hotel. My first lighthouse tour, but hopefully not my last, had come to a close. It was simply fantastic.
I wish to thank Thomas Hartnet and Kieron Molloy for their great kindness; Sean Harrington for coming to our rescue and providing us with great photo opportunities and, finally, to Joe Roddy and Dick O'Driscoll for meeting the group and sharing so many memories with us.