Visitors flocking to see inside one of Mayo's most historic buildings
Blacksod Lighthouse's beacon has guided mariners for 155 years
by Joanna McNicholas
THE day was warm, gentle waves caressed the Erris shores and there was a lot of activity around Blacksod pier.
A green shutter on the lighthouse was open and a coffee pod across the road was completing ticket sales for the newly opened lighthouse tours.
Blacksod had come to life and the air was filled with excitement.
Set on a peninsula of beautiful beaches and spectacular scenery, Blacksod sits on the Atlantic coast of Ireland and the extreme western shores of Europe.
Two weeks ago, for the first time since 1866, Blacksod Lighthouse opened its door to the public and guided tours are now available.
Situated at the southern tip of the Mullet Peninsula the lighthouse is drawing people from far and near, curious for a look inside one of Mayo’s most historic buildings.
Blacksod Lighthouse is vastly different from the usual pictures we see of tall, round, slender lighthouses. Square lighthouses are rare and the one at Blacksod can be counted amongst them.
Above the house a tower holds the beacon which has safely guided mariners for the past 155 years. The building looks quite unassuming despite the incredibly important role it has played down through the decades.
Blacksod Lighthouse is the property of the Commissioner of Irish Lights and is under the management of Comharchumann Forbartha Ionad Deirbhile (CFID), a development co-operative in the nearby village of Eachléim.
CFID was granted funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development, Roinn Oidhreacht, Cultúr agus Gaeltachta and Údarás na Gaeltachta for the establishment of a tourism hub in Eachléim. The first stage of the project is the opening of the lighthouse as a visitor attraction.
Despite delays to its opening caused by Covid-19, conversion works to the building were eventually completed and the lighthouse finally opened to the public on July 30.
Two rooms inside the building have been converted into galleries with informative displays about the four lighthouses of Erris.
Here you will see how each of the lighthouses situated at Blacksod, Blackrock Island, Eagle Island and Broadhaven has its own key role in shepherding boats safely around the jagged rocks off the Mullet Peninsula.
Tour guides Fergus Sweeney and William Duffy give tours of the lighthouse, including upstairs to where the light is positioned. There’s a lot of interest in north Mayo’s newest tourist attraction and groups are kept in small pods to comply with Covid-19 regulations.
Evin Walker, tourism officer at Comharchumann Forbartha Ionad Deirbhile, said tours must be booked online in advance. “We have seen huge demand and we are only opened a few days,” he explained.
As well as being a navigational aid guiding marine traffic safely through the Erris waters, Blacksod Lighthouse was also a family home for its lighthouse keepers.
In 1933 Ted Sweeney was made keeper, and the lighthouse became the family home to successive generations of the Sweeney family.
Ted’s son Vincent Sweeney has been attendant at Blacksod since 1981, and another son, Gerry Sweeney, served at a number of lighthouses, including at nearby Eagle Island.
The lighthouse tradition continues with Fergus Sweeney, Ted’s grandson being one of the tour guides for the new Blacksod Lighthouse tours.
D-DAY LANDINGS
In 1884 the gathering of weather information began at Blacksod and in the following century a weather report sent from there was to change the course of world history.
Maureen Flavin, a young Kerry woman working at the post office in Blacksod, forecast an approaching storm in June 1944. This forecast changed the timing of the D-Day landings, which signalled the beginning of the end of World War II.
Maureen subsequently married lighthouse keeper Ted Sweeney and it was years later before they discovered their weather report had guided thousands of allied soldiers safely across the English Channel to Normandy.
Earlier this year 98-year-old Maureen was presented with the prestigious US House of Representatives award, an honour which is rarely given. This means Maureen’s accomplishments will be registered in the US Library of Congress in perpetuity.
Even though Blacksod Lighthouse is now a visitor attraction it will continue to function as a forward refuelling base for search and rescue helicopters on missions in the region. Lighthouse attendant Vincent Sweeney, and his brother Gerry, assistant lighthouse attendant, are always on call to answer a refuelling request.
Should a helicopter need refuelling during tour hours, the tours will be temporarily suspended until this essential task has been completed. “We’re on call 24-7, for 365 days of the year for refuelling purposes. We have to be close by,” Vincent said.
In March 2017 the quiet village of Blacksod was thrown into the public eye following the tragic crash of Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116. Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Captain Mark Duffy and winch crew Paul Ormsby and Ciaran Smith all lost their lives when their aircraft collided with Blackrock Island.
In the aftermath of the accident the local community gathered their resources and provided shelter, food and support for relatives and rescue services. The operation continued for several weeks.
Tragedies such as this strike into the very heart and soul of a community and the upset of the traumatic event has understandably left its mark.
Information about the Rescue 116 crash is not included in the guided tour. This is because the official report on the incident has yet to be completed.
The Great Lighthouses of Ireland operate 15 lighthouses as visitor attractions around the Irish coast but until now a guided lighthouse tour wasn’t available in the Connaught region.
(For anyone wishing to hear about the four lighthouses of Erris, their keepers and their history, then a visit to Blacksod Lighthouse is a must. Tours can be booked at visitblacksodlighthouse.ie).