Rotten Island lighthouse
Encyclopedia
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
. It is operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights
.
wrote to the Ballast Board on 21 April 1832 recommending that a light be placed on Drumanoo Point. George Halpin
, Inspector to the Ballast Board, agreed that a light was necessary but he recommended Rotten Island
instead. The Ballast Board then approved a light in 1833 and Statutory Sanction was obtained from Trinity House
.
third order lens pointed to land 66 feet above high water and visible in clear weather for 12 miles. It was first exhibited on the 1st September 1838 before completion. The cost at the end of 1839 amounted to £8,697.19s.4d.
On 15 September 1836 three men drowned while returning from work on the rock as their boat capsized.
lens, flashing with a character of one flash every three seconds. This new light was introduced on 13 December 1910.
The station was automated on 7 January 1959 and the dioptric lens with its revolving machine and vaporised paraffin incandescent burner were replaced by a new fourth order cylindric refractor lens. Its mantle light source used dissolved acetylene
from a battery of cylinders giving a candlepower
of 2,600 white light and 500 in the red sector. This appeared to be worse than the old light and mariners using the harbour complained about the new lens.
The light was converted to electric
on 1 February 1963 which increased the candlepower to 13,000 white and 2,600 in the red sector of the light. The character though remained the same, one flash every three seconds. If the electricity supply fails, an automatic changeover to batteries comes into operation and an acetylene
standby can be fitted if the battery standby fails.
The character was changed to one flash every four seconds on 1 February 1965.
Killybegs
Killybegs is the largest fishing port in County Donegal and in Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. The town is situated at the head of a scenic harbour and at the base of a vast mountainous tract extending northward...
Harbour, Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay
Donegal Bay is an inlet in the northwest of Ireland. Three counties – Donegal to the north and west, Leitrim and Sligo to the south – have shorelines on the bay, which is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean...
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is operated by the Commissioners of Irish Lights
Commissioners of Irish Lights
The Commissioners of Irish Lights is the body that serves as the lighthouse authority for Ireland plus its adjacent seas and islands...
.
History
The Inspecting Commander of the CoastguardHer Majesty's Coastguard
Her Majesty's Coastguard is the service of the government of the United Kingdom concerned with co-ordinating air-sea rescue.HM Coastguard is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all civilian maritime Search and Rescue within the UK...
wrote to the Ballast Board on 21 April 1832 recommending that a light be placed on Drumanoo Point. George Halpin
George Halpin
George Halpin , was a prominent civil engineer and lighthouse builder, responsible for the construction of much of the Port of Dublin, several of Dublin's bridges, and a number of lighthouses; he is considered the founding father of the Irish lighthouse service...
, Inspector to the Ballast Board, agreed that a light was necessary but he recommended Rotten Island
Rotten Island
Rotten Island is a small island close to the entrance of Killybegs harbour, Donegal Bay, Ireland.-Features:Rotten Island lighthouse was established in 1838 and is still operational. It has a white conical masonry tower with a red gallery and is operated by the Commissioners of Irish...
instead. The Ballast Board then approved a light in 1833 and Statutory Sanction was obtained from 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...
.
Design and construction
The lighthouse and keepers' houses were designed by George Halpin and the works wer carried out by the Board's workers under his inspection. The conical tower of cut granite was painted white. The original light was a fixed white catoptricCatoptrics
Catoptrics deals with the phenomena of reflected light and image-forming optical systems using mirrors. From the Greek κατοπτρικός ....
third order lens pointed to land 66 feet above high water and visible in clear weather for 12 miles. It was first exhibited on the 1st September 1838 before completion. The cost at the end of 1839 amounted to £8,697.19s.4d.
On 15 September 1836 three men drowned while returning from work on the rock as their boat capsized.
Changes
In 1910 the fixed light was changed to a fifth order dioptricDioptrics
Dioptrics is the study of the refraction of light, especially by lenses. Telescopes that create their image with an objective that is a convex lens are said to be "dioptric" telescopes....
lens, flashing with a character of one flash every three seconds. This new light was introduced on 13 December 1910.
The station was automated on 7 January 1959 and the dioptric lens with its revolving machine and vaporised paraffin incandescent burner were replaced by a new fourth order cylindric refractor lens. Its mantle light source used dissolved acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
from a battery of cylinders giving a candlepower
Candela
The candela is the SI base unit of luminous intensity; that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function . A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela...
of 2,600 white light and 500 in the red sector. This appeared to be worse than the old light and mariners using the harbour complained about the new lens.
The light was converted to electric
Electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
on 1 February 1963 which increased the candlepower to 13,000 white and 2,600 in the red sector of the light. The character though remained the same, one flash every three seconds. If the electricity supply fails, an automatic changeover to batteries comes into operation and an acetylene
Acetylene
Acetylene is the chemical compound with the formula C2H2. It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in pure form and thus is usually handled as a solution.As an alkyne, acetylene is unsaturated because...
standby can be fitted if the battery standby fails.
The character was changed to one flash every four seconds on 1 February 1965.