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Displaying items by tag: May Bank Holiday Festival

23rd April 2016

Visit Great Lighthouses of Ireland to Shine a Light on Summer!

Yvonne Shields, Chief Executive of Irish Lights with the backdrop of the old Baily Lighthouse optic at the National Maritime Museum of Ireland in Dun Laoghaire

#GreatLighthouses - This May Bank Holiday (30 April-2 May) kick start your summer and get out to visit the Great Lighthouses on this island for a weekend of fun, discovery, stories and thrills.

Walk through time, meet fifth-century monks, medieval Knights, discover all about the life of Lighthouse keepers at Hook Lighthouse on their new Ireland’s Ancient East tour experience, hear the tales of wrecks and lifesaving feats, as well as having ceol agus craic at Fanad - voted one of the most beautiful lighthouses in the world.

Take guided tours of Loop Head Lighthouse and its award winning peninsula and return for a feast of seafood and fun.

Tie nautical knots and welcome back the puffins as they clown around squawking and sea diving at Rathlin West Light Seabird Centre. Enjoy a traditional music session in the lighthouse keeper’s dwelling house and watch helicopter sea rescue manoeuvres at Valentia Island Lighthouse.

Hear the Singing Sistas at Clare Island Lighthouse and listen to the tales and stories of Lighthouse Keeping on Ballycotton Island. Get tips on being safe and enjoying our coast this summer, explore our towers, discover their hidden secrets and much more.

For hundreds of years lighthouses have helped seafarers find their way. Now they shine their light on truly unique experiences around our stunning coastline.

Great Lighthouses of Ireland (www.greatlighthouses.com) invites visitors and friends to a feast of storytelling, music, workshops and of course tower tours in seven of our amazing lighthouses along the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East and all the way to Rathlin Island. A fun-filled weekend is promised.

Coastal partners and organisations such as Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI), Coastguard and others will be onsite for demonstrations and talks in many of the locations.

This will be a special opportunity to get behind the scenes with experts from Irish Lights and learn about technology and navigation today. Local historians and Storykeepers will provide tours that showcase the natural and cultural highlights.

Yvonne Shields, Chief Executive of Irish Lights said; “Our visitors tell us that getting to the top of a lighthouse tower is a unique and special experience. This weekend we are encouraging everyone to come and enjoy all that the Great Lighthouses of Ireland has to offer. Irish Lights is delighted to support our partners to showcase the best of these locations.

Lighthouse keeping was a way of life for keepers and their families for well over 100 years. However, advances in technology meant that lighthouses could be automated, and while all our lighthouses are still fully operational, there is no longer a need for permanent lighthouse keepers to be stationed on site. Great Lighthouses of Ireland is a wonderful way of keeping this rich maritime heritage, and the legacy of these Lighthouse Keepers, alive.”

Great Lighthouses of Ireland is a new and exciting collaboration between many private and public organisations in coastal communities. The experience has been developed to build on the momentum of the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East and this event is supported by Fáilte Ireland.

Speaking at the opening of Fanad Head Lighthouse on Friday 29th April, Shaun Quinn CEO of Fáilte Ireland welcomed the inaugural Shine a Light on Summer Festival.

“Whether it’s Hook in Wexford, Valentia Island in Kerry, Loop Head in Clare, Fanad Head in Donegal or the Island Lighthouse towers in Cork and Mayo, this is the weekend to discover that part of Irish life and culture where the land meets the sea. We in Failte Ireland are delighted to support this event as it encourages visitors to embrace an authentic piece of our Irish past and to meet with the people and communities who are passionate about these unique places”

As Gerald Butler, Former Lighthouse Keeper & Current Lighthouse Attendant at Galley Head Lighthouse says, “It wasn’t a job – it was a way of life”

For event details and information about and booking Great Lighthouses of Ireland visit:www.greatlighthouses.com

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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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