Commissioners of Irish Lights
Encyclopedia
The Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) is the body that serves as the lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

 authority for Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 plus its adjacent seas and islands. As the Irish Lighthouse Authority it oversees the coastal lights and navigation marks provided by the local lighthouse authorities; the county councils and port authorities.

It is funded by ships that use the seas around Ireland pooled with dues raised by the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. This recognises that a large volume of shipping, typically transatlantic, relies on the lights provided by the CIL but never puts in to its ports.

History

Signal fires to guide shipping have long existed. Hook Head is the oldest continuous (with some interruptions) light in Ireland, it was originally a signal fire or beacon tended by the monk Dubhán
Dubhán
Dubhán was the founder of the church of Killooaun or Cill Dhubháin , Ballymacward, County Galway. All that now exists of the church are ruins, but it was once the centre of a medieval vicarage...

 in the fifth century. Monks continued to maintain the light until the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...

 in 1641.

King Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...

 reestablished the lighthouse in 1657. He granted a patent for the erection of six lighthouses to Robert Reading
Robert Reading
Sir Robert Reading, first and last Baronet Reading, built several privately owned lighthouses in Ireland under letters patent from Charles II of England.He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, receiving a BA in 1658....

, some replacing older lighthouses. at Hook Head
Hook Head
Hook Head is a headland in County Wexford, Ireland located on the east side of the estuary of the three sisters rivers . It is part of the Hook peninsula and is adjacent to the historic townland of Loftus Hall...

, Baily Lighthouse
Baily Lighthouse
The Baily Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the southeastern part of Howth Head in Dublin, Ireland. It is maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.-Early history:...

 at Howth Head
Howth Head
Howth Head is a headland north east of Dublin City in Ireland. Howth falls under the local governance of fingal county council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while village of Howth and the harbour are on the northern shore. Baily Lighthouse is on the southeastern part of Howth Head...

, Howth sand-bar, Old Head of Kinsale, Barry Oge's castle (now Charlesfort
Charles Fort (Ireland)
Charles Fort is a star fort located on the water's edge, at the southern end of the village of Summer Cove, on Kinsale harbour, County Cork, Ireland. James' Fort is located on the other side of the harbour....

, near Kinsale
Kinsale
Kinsale is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Located some 25 km south of Cork City on the coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon and has a population of 2,257 which increases substantially during the summer months when the tourist season is at its peak and...

), and the Isle of Magee.

In 1704 Anne, Queen of Great Britain transferred the lighthouses around the Irish coast to the Revenue Commissioners.

The Commissioners of Irish Lights, or "CIL" was established under an Act of the Parliament of Ireland
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...

 passed in 1786 and entitled An Act for Promoting the Trade of Dublin, by rendering its Port and Harbour more commodious (26 Geo. III, c. xix). Lighthouses were not included until the 1810 Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

. These Acts, as confirmed by the Irish Lights Commissioners (Adaptation) Order, 1935 remains the legislative basis for the CIL.

The CIL has recently moved its headquarters from Dublin to a purpose-built new building in Harbour Road, Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...

.

Finance

The services provided by the Commissioners are financed from the General Lighthouse Fund. The income of the General Lighthouse Fund is mainly derived from light dues
Light dues
Light dues are the charges levied on ships for the maintenance of lighthouses and other aids to navigation.-British Isles:Light dues are levied on commercial vessels calling at ports in the British Isles and paid in to the General Lighthouse Fund , which is under the stewardship of the UK's...

 charged on commercial shipping at ports in Ireland and the United Kingdom, (i.e. user pays) supplemented by an annual contribution from the Irish Government towards the cost of the service provided by the Commissioners in the Republic of Ireland.

The General Lighthouse Fund is administered by the UK Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...

. It also finances:
  1. Trinity House
    Trinity House
    The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...

     Lighthouse Service – the General Lighthouse Authority for England
    England
    England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

    , Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

     and the Channel Islands
    Channel Islands
    The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

    ;
  2. Northern Lighthouse Board
    Northern Lighthouse Board
    The Northern Lighthouse Board is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas.-History:...

     – the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland
    Scotland
    Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

     and the Isle of Man
    Isle of Man
    The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

    .


The accounts of the Commissioners of Irish Lights are consolidated with those of Trinity House Lighthouse Service and the Northern Lighthouse Board to form part of the General Lighthouse Fund annual accounts which are published in London by HMSO.

Granuaile III

The Commissioners currently have only one light tender in service named . She was built at Galatz Shipyard, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, in 2000 and is registered in Dublin. She has a , has a length overall of 79.6 m and a beam of 15.99 m.
She is the third vessel named Granuaile to have served the Commissioners. Granuaile II was in service between 1970 and 2000, and she was preceded by the first Granuaile from 1948 to 1970.
Because of the automation of lighthouses, and the extensive use of helicopters by the Commissioners, CIL now need only one tender in service. The ship has diesel electric propulsion and is extremely manoeuvrable, and is therefore ideal for her role in maintaining the automatic navigation buoys in Irish waters. In 2003 she was involved in the recovery of the ill-fated fishing boat "Pisces", which sank off Fethard
Fethard-on-Sea
Fethard-on-Sea , or Fethard, is a village inn south-western County Wexford, Ireland on the eastern side of the Hook peninsula. It is in the parish of Templetown in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns. Neighbouring parishes are Duncannon, Ramsgrange and Ballycullane.- History :Now known as a fishing...

, Co Wexford, in July 2002.

Other vessels

  • Princess Alexandra (1863–1904)
  • Tearaght (1892–1928) - see Kingstown Lifeboat Disaster
    Kingstown Lifeboat Disaster
    The Kingstown Lifeboat Disaster occurred on Christmas Eve 1895 off Kingstown , Ireland, when the Kingstown Lifeboat was capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the stricken SS Palme. The crew of fifteen were lost...

  • Moya (1893–1905)
  • Ierne (1898–1954)
  • Alexandra (1904–1955)
  • Deirdre (1919–1927)
  • Nabro (1926–1949)
  • Isolda (1928–1940) (Sunk off the Saltee Islands Co Wexford by German
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

     aircraft)
  • Discovery II (1947–1948)
  • Valonia (1947–1962)
  • Granuaile (1948–1970)
  • Blaskbeg (1953–1955)
  • Isolda (1953–1976)
  • Ierne II (1955–1971)
  • Atlanta (1959–1988)
  • Granuaile II (1970–2000)
  • Gray Seal (1988–1994)

Flags

Commissioners of Irish Lights is a cross-border body, with its headquarters in Dublin. The current flag of the CIL features lightships and lighthouses between the arms of the St. Patrick's Cross. The St. George's Cross was used until 1970. CIL vessels in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

 fly the Blue Ensign
Blue Ensign
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain, or defaced with a badge or other emblem....

 defaced with the Commissioner's badge and those in the Republic fly the Irish tricolour.

Lighthouses

  • Inishowen
    Inishowen
    Inishowen is a peninsula in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland. It is also the largest peninsula in all of Ireland. Inishowen is a picturesque location with a rich history...

    , County Donegal
  • Inishtrahull lighthouse
    Inishtrahull lighthouse
    Inishtrahull Lighthouse is the northerly most lighthouse in Ireland located on the Inishtrahull Island off the coast of County Donegal. Coupled with the lighthouse on Tory Island they form the two main landfall lights for shipping from the Atlantic rounding the north coast of Ireland, and...

    , County Donegal
  • Fanad
    Fanad
    Fanad is a peninsula that lies between Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay on the north coast of County Donegal in Ireland. It encompasses the parishes of Clondavaddog, Killygarvan and parts of Tullyfern and Aughinish. The peninsula includes the towns and villages of Milford, Kerrykeel , Tamney,...

    , County Donegal
  • Dunree
    Dunree
    Dunree is an area in north-west Inishowen, in Co. Donegal, Ireland, and part of the parish of Desertegney.The area has a small local population...

    , County Donegal
  • Buncrana, County Donegal
  • Tory Island
    Tory Island
    Toraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...

    , County Donegal
  • Arranmore
    Arranmore
    Árainn Mhór is the largest inhabited island of County Donegal, and the second largest in all of Ireland, with a population of 528 in 2006, down from 543 in 2002, and over 600 in 1996. The island is part of the Donegal Gaeltacht...

    , County Donegal
  • Ballagh Rocks, County Donegal
  • Rathlin O'Birne, County Donegal
  • Rotten Island lighthouse
    Rotten Island lighthouse
    Rotten Island lighthouse is a harbour light to light the passage from St. John's Point to inner channel and past the rocks to the anchorage within Killybegs Harbour, Donegal Bay, Republic of Ireland...

    , County Donegal
  • St. John's, County Donegal
  • Blackrock, County Sligo
  • Lower Rosses Point
    Rosses Point
    Rosses Point is a village in County Sligo, Ireland and also the name of the surrounding peninsula. The point guards Sligo Harbour and is marked by the Metal Man lighthouse, a 3.7 metre high guardian statue placed offshore by local seafarers in 1821 and maintained by the Commissioners of Irish...

    , County Sligo
  • Metal Man
    Rosses Point
    Rosses Point is a village in County Sligo, Ireland and also the name of the surrounding peninsula. The point guards Sligo Harbour and is marked by the Metal Man lighthouse, a 3.7 metre high guardian statue placed offshore by local seafarers in 1821 and maintained by the Commissioners of Irish...

    , County Sligo
  • Oyster Island, County Sligo
  • Broadhaven, County Mayo
  • Eagle Island
    Eagle Island, County Mayo
    Eagle Island lies off the Mullet Peninsula in Erris off the north west County Mayo Atlantic Ocean coast in Ireland....

    , County Mayo
  • Blackrock
    Blackrock
    Blackrock is a suburb of Dublin in County Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Ireland. It is northwest of Dún Laoghaire.-Location and access:Blackrock covers a large but not precisely defined area, rising from sea level on the coast to at White's Cross on the N11 national primary road. Blackrock is bordered...

    , County Mayo
  • Blacksod Bay
    Blacksod Bay
    Blacksod Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, North County Mayo, Ireland. The bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula and to its eastern side by the coastline of Kiltane Parish where it extends southwards from Belmullet towards Gweesalia and Doohoma...

    , County Mayo
  • Achillbeg
    Achillbeg
    Acaill Bheag is a small island in County Mayo, Ireland, just off the southern tip of Achill Island. Its name means 'Little Achill'. Acaill Bheag was evacuated in 1965 and the inhabitants were settled on the main island and nearby mainland. The main settlement was in the centre of the island,...

    , County Mayo
  • Inishgort, County Mayo
  • Slyne Head lighthouse
    Slyne Head Lighthouse
    Slyne Head Lighthouse is located at westernmost point of County Galway, about southwest of Doonlaughan, Ireland and is maintained by Commissioners of Irish Lights . There were two lighthouses on this point built in 1836 but only the West one remains active.-External links:* by Jean Guichard*...

    , County Galway
  • Cashla Bay, County Galway
  • Eeragh, County Galway
  • Straw Island, County Galway
  • Inisheer
    Inisheer
    Inisheer is the smallest and most eastern of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Ireland.-Naming:The official name, , was brought into usage by the Ordnance Survey Ireland. It may be a compromise between the traditional local name and the previous official name . There is no Irish word...

    , County Galway
  • Blackhead, County Clare
  • Loop Head
    Loop Head
    Loop Head , is a headland on the north side of the mouth of the River Shannon, in County Clare in the west of Ireland.Loop Head is marked by a prominent lighthouse. The opposite headland on the south side of the Shannon is Kerry Head...

    , County Clare
  • Kilcredaun Head, County Clare
  • Corlis Point Front, County Clare
  • Corlis Point Rear, County Clare
  • Scattery Island, County Clare
  • Little Samphire Island, County Kerry
  • Inishtearaght
    Tearaght Island
    Tearaght Island or Inishtearaght is an uninhabited steep rocky island west of the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. At longitude 10° 39.7' Tearaght is the westernmost of the Blasket Islands, and thus the westernmost island in the Republic of Ireland and the British Isles...

    , County Kerry
  • Cromwell Point, County Kerry
  • Valentia Rear
    Valentia Island
    Valentia Island is one of Ireland's westernmost points, lying off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry, Ireland. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial bridge at Portmagee, as well as by a ferry which sails from Reenard Point to Knightstown, the island's...

    , County Kerry
  • Valentia Front
    Valentia Island
    Valentia Island is one of Ireland's westernmost points, lying off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry, Ireland. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial bridge at Portmagee, as well as by a ferry which sails from Reenard Point to Knightstown, the island's...

    , County Kerry
  • Skelligs
    Skellig Islands
    The Skellig Islands , once known as the Skellocks, are two small, steep, and rocky islands lying about 13 km west of Bolus Head on the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland...

    , County Kerry
  • Bull Rock, County Cork
  • Ardnakinna, County Cork
  • Castletown Directional Light, County Cork
  • Roancarrig, County Cork
  • Sheeps Head, County Cork
  • Mizen Head
    Mizen Head
    Mizen Head , is located at the extremity of a peninsula in the district of Carbery in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of the extreme points of the island of Ireland and is a major tourist attraction, noted for its dramatic cliff scenery...

    , County Cork
  • Crookhaven
    Crookhaven
    Crookhaven is a village in County Cork, Ireland, on the most southwestern tip of Ireland. A winter population of about forty swells in the summer to about four hundred with the occupants of the many holiday homes arriving.-History:...

    , County Cork
  • Copper Point, County Cork
  • Fastnet Rock
    Fastnet Rock
    Fastnet Rock is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland. It lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland...

    , County Cork
  • Baltimore Beacon
    Baltimore Beacon
    The Baltimore Beacon is a white-painted stone beacon at the entrance to the harbour at Baltimore, County Cork, Ireland. The beacon was built at the order of the British government following the 1798 Rebellion...

    , County Cork
  • Galley Head
    Galley Head
    The Galley Head is a headland and lighthouse outside of Rosscarbery, County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland.Galley Head Lighthouse station is situated on the Galley Head or Dundeady headland in the very heart of West Cork at about 130 feet above sea level, overlooking St George's Channel and 2...

    , County Cork
  • Old Head of Kinsale
    Old Head of Kinsale
    The Old Head of Kinsale, is a headland near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. An early lighthouse was established here in the 17th century by Robert Reading...

    , County Cork
  • Charlesfort, County Cork
  • Roches Point, County Cork
  • Ballycotton
    Ballycotton
    Ballycotton is a village in County Cork, Ireland, situated about 25 miles east of Cork city. It is a famous fishing village and has given its name to the folk band Ballycotton. The village is set on a rocky-ledge overlooking Ballycotton Bay and its sandy beach that stretches for about...

    , County Cork
  • Youghal
    Youghal
    Youghal is a town in County Cork, Ireland. Sitting on the estuary of the River Blackwater, in the past it was militarily and economically important. Being built on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a distinctive long and narrow layout...

    , County Cork
  • Mine Head, County Waterford
  • Ballinacourty Point, County Waterford
  • Dunmore East
    Dunmore East
    Dunmore East is a popular tourist and fishing village village in County Waterford, Ireland. Situated on the west side of Waterford Harbour on Ireland's southeastern coast, it lies within the barony of Gaultier : a reference to the influx of Norman settlers in the area.-History:Iron Age people...

    , County Waterford
  • Duncannon
    Duncannon
    Duncannon is a village in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky promontory jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncannon Fort which dominates the village.Primarily a fishing village, Duncannon also relies heavily on...

    , County Wexford
  • Hook Head
    Hook Head
    Hook Head is a headland in County Wexford, Ireland located on the east side of the estuary of the three sisters rivers . It is part of the Hook peninsula and is adjacent to the historic townland of Loftus Hall...

    , County Wexford
  • Tuskar Rock, County Wexford
  • Wicklow Head
    Wicklow Head
    Wicklow Head is a headland near the southeast edge of the town of Wicklow in County Wicklow, approximately 3 km from the centre of the town.Geographically, it is the easternmost point on the mainland of the Republic of Ireland.-See also:...

    , County Wicklow
  • Muglins, County Dublin
  • Poolbeg lighthouse
    Poolbeg Lighthouse
    Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay was built in 1768 and initially operated on candlepower but changed to oil in 1786...

    , County Dublin
  • Kish Bank
    Kish Bank
    The Kish Bank is a shallow sand bank about seven miles off the coast of Dublin, in Ireland. It is marked by the Kish Lighthouse, a landmark well known to sailors and ferry passengers passing through Dublin Bay and Dún Laoghaire harbour.Many ships were wrecked on these shallows...

    , County Dublin
  • Baily lighthouse
    Baily Lighthouse
    The Baily Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the southeastern part of Howth Head in Dublin, Ireland. It is maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.-Early history:...

    , County Dublin
  • Howth Head
    Howth Head
    Howth Head is a headland north east of Dublin City in Ireland. Howth falls under the local governance of fingal county council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while village of Howth and the harbour are on the northern shore. Baily Lighthouse is on the southeastern part of Howth Head...

    , County Dublin
  • Rockabill
    Rockabill
    Rockabill is a group of two islands, "The Rock" and "The Bill", lying in the western Irish Sea about 6 kilometres east-north-east of Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland. An alternative Irish name, Carraig Dhá Bheola, meaning Two Lips Rock, is probably just a corruption of Carraig Dábhiolla.The...

    , County Dublin
  • Dundalk
    Dundalk
    Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...

    , County Louth
  • Green Island, County Down
  • Vidal Bank, County Down
  • Haulbowline, County Down
  • St. John's Point, County Down
  • Angus Rock, County Down
  • Donaghadee
    Donaghadee
    Donaghadee is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about east of Belfast and about six miles south east of Bangor. It had a population of 6,470 people in the 2001 Census...

    , County Down
  • Mew Island, County Down
  • Blackhead, County Antrim
  • Chaine Memorial Tower lighthouse
    Chaine Memorial
    The Chaine Memorial Tower is a memorial to James Chaine, a former Member of Parliament for Larne, County Antrim. It is a cylindrical stone tower lighthouse with a conical roof, situated on the west side of entrance to Larne Lough...

    , County Antrim
  • The Maidens, County Antrim
  • Rathlin East, County Antrim
  • Rue Point, County Antrim
  • Rathlin West, County Antrim


External links

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