Cylindrical tower with balcony, lantern on the east tower removed
Markings
White tower
Operator
Commissioners of Irish Lights[2]
Light
Focal height
67 metres (220 ft)[1]
Range
33 km (18 nmi)
Characteristic
Fl (3) W 20s.
Ireland no.
CIL-1850
The Eagle Island lighthouses are a pair of lighthouses on Eagle Island, County Mayo, Ireland, of which only one remains operational.
Two lighthouses were commissioned in 1830 in response to requests from the Coastguards who were concerned at the sea conditions at Blackrock, further south. The Board inspector, however, ruled in favor of locating the new lighthouses on Eagle Island, one in the east and the other in the west, with 121 metres (132 yd) between them, at a cost of almost £40,000 (roughly £3,200,000 or €5,730,000 in 2023). Their lights were aligned at a height of 67 m (220 ft) above sea level and could be seen to the east as far as Broadhaven Bay and to the south as far as Blacksod Bay. The lighthouses became operational in September 1835.[1]
Eagle Island is located close to the edge of the Continental Shelf and is constantly pounded by powerful waves from the Atlantic. When the lighthouses were first built in the 19th century there were two lighthouses and seven dwelling houses on Eagle Island, according to the 1841 census. By the 1911 census, there was only one dwelling house listed on the island. Despite the erection of a massive storm wall to protect the lighthouses, the lights were repeatedly hit by waves coming off the Atlantic.[2]
Although the lighthouse sites sit almost 60 m (200 ft) above the high water mark, during a severe storm on 17 January 1836, a rock was thrown up the cliffs and smashed the glass in a window 27 m (87 ft) high up in the tower building. On 11 March 1861 at midday the light room of the East tower was struck by a rogue wave, smashing 23 panes, washing some of the lamps down the stairs, and damaging the reflectors with broken glass beyond repair. The light was restored the following night with a reduced number of lamps and reflectors. So much water cascaded down the tower in the incident that it was impossible for the keepers to open the door at the base, and they had to drill holes in it to let the water out.[1]
Storms constantly batter the lighthouse at Eagle Island and gradually it was realized that Eagle Island was not well suited to human habitation. The families on the island were rehoused near to Corclough on the mainland at the end of the 19th century, although lighthouse keepers remained resident. On 31 March 1988 the lighthouse was made automatic and there have been no lighthouse keepers resident on the island since.[1]
^ abcd"Eagle Island Lighthouse". Commissioners of Irish Lights. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
^ abRowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Western Ireland (Ulster and Connacht)". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
and 25 Related for: Eagle Island lighthouses information
The EagleIslandlighthouses are a pair of lighthouses on EagleIsland, County Mayo, Ireland, of which only one remains operational. Two lighthouses were...
end of 1969, Blacksod became the helicopter base for EagleIsland and Blackrock Islandlighthouses. As of 1993, the helipad was in use as the base for...
Eagle Harbor Light is an operational lighthouse at Eagle Harbor, in Keweenaw County in the state of Michigan. It sits on the rocky entrance to Eagle Harbor...
EagleIsland Light is a lighthouse on EagleIsland in Penobscot Bay, in south central Maine. The tower was first lit in 1838 but had to be torn down because...
lighthouses in the world painted black, which was chosen to distinguish it from Capel Island's (unlit) beacon. Capel Island is where the lighthouse was...
modern lighthouse on the point Historical evidence suggests that another island formerly existed alongside EagleIsland. It was known as Steamboat Island, although...
Historic Lighthouses - Alcatraz Island". National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-02-18. "Inventory of Historic Lighthouses - Maine Lighthouses". National...
Lightvessel Lists of lighthouses List of islands of Ireland List of RNLI stations Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Northern Ireland". The Lighthouse Directory. University...
staffed lighthouses on the Atlantic coast as a cost-saving measure. Today, all lighthouses in Eastern Canada except for the station on Machias Seal Island are...
an inclement forecast. Blackrock Lighthouse lies 12 miles (19 km) offshore on Blackrock Island. EagleIslandlighthouse lies off the northwest tip of the...
Island to capture rhinoceros auklets. In recent years the population of rhinoceros auklet have been in decline as a result of habitat loss and eagle predation...
0 mi) southwest of Cape Clear Island and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current lighthouse is the second to be built on...
or Montauk Point Lighthouse, is a lighthouse located adjacent to Montauk Point State Park, at the easternmost point of Long Island, in the hamlet of...
Eagle Harbor may refer to several places in the United States: Eagle Harbor, a development on Fleming Island, Florida Eagle Harbor, Maryland, a town Eagle...
EagleLighthouse. Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin: Door County Publishing Co. p. 39. Eagle Bluff Lighthouse Museum - official website Door County Lighthouses...
York, Eagle, and Raspberry Islands are located in Bayfield County. All the islands except for Madeline Island are part of the Apostle Islands National...
Gardiners Island". The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries. p. 12 – via Google Books. "Gardiners IslandLighthouses". East End Lighthouses. Archived...
can be extremely dangerous to ships and isolated structures such as lighthouses. They are distinct from tsunamis, which are often almost unnoticeable...
19th-century tower is the most recent in a series of lighthouses that have been built in the islands, which have helped to guide shipping around the archipelago...
White Sox Coast of Little Corn Island Aerial view of Corn Island Long Bay, Corn IslandIslands portal List of lighthouses in Nicaragua "Las Islas del Maíz"...
Lake Superior in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Two historical lighthouses have served as the Michigan Island light. The older was constructed...
8 mi) south-southwest of Faror Island. List of lighthouses in Iran Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Iran". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North...
Wexford, in Ireland. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and the second oldest operating lighthouse in the world, after the Tower of Hercules...
Census Bureau Roach, Jerry, Lighthouse Central, Photos of the Squaw Island Light, The Ultimate Guide to Upper Michigan Lighthouses (Publisher: Bugs Publishing...
years. List of lighthouses in Canada List of lighthouses in British Columbia Graveyard of the Pacific SS Valencia Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Canada: Southern...