#KishLight@50- The Commissioners of Irish Lights today welcomed the visit of President Michael D Higgins and Mrs. Sabina Higgins to join the Board and staff to say 'Happy Birthday' as the Kish Lighthouse celebrates 50 years of service on the 9th November 2015.
Imagine what that means.
How many millions of passengers have watched the Kish fade over the horizon as they emigrated to Britain and beyond? How many have watched its welcoming flash guide them safely back home to Ireland?
95% of everything we use arrives and leaves by sea. Imagine the cargoes made safe by the Kish Light. The agricultural products, the machinery, the building materials, the household goods, the cars, the clothes; every single staple of our lives has passed the great guiding lighthouse on the Kish.
As a witness to social history the Kish has seen significant change. Containerisation has changed the ships and crews, air travel has changed the passenger numbers, fuel costs have allowed it witness the growth and subsequent decline of fast vessels such as Jetfoil and HSS. (See, Afloat's latest report on the former Stena Explorer currently heading for Turkey).
Consider the lives of the Lighthouse Keepers who lived on the tower until automation in 1992.
The Kish Lighthouse is not just a seamark but a very significant engineering landmark of its day. The lighthouse replaced a lightship which was one of a series of such vessels that marked the Kish Bank since 1811 – meaning that there has been a continuous light on the Kish for the 204 years.
