Tuesday 25 April 2017

Dunmore East Lighthouse, County Waterford


In 1814 when Dunmore was a very small fishing village nestling in a sheltered cove it was chosen by the Post Office to be the Irish terminal of a new Mail Packet route from Milford Haven. The Post Office engaged a Scottish Engineer, Alexander Nimmo, to design and build the new harbour for which he used the local old red sandstone conglomerate. His design included a magnificent lighthouse which took the form of a fluted Doric column with the lantern on top of the capital. There is no exact date as to when the light was established, but it was some time in 1825. The light as established was fixed, catoptric, 3rd order, showing red to sea and white or clear to land, it was 13.4m (44 feet) above high water and the tower painted white. In 1903 white gave way to the natural stone colour. Acetylene gave way to electricity on 24th January 1964 and since August 1981 the optic lamp is powered from ESB mains electricity.

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