Tag Archives: lighthouse

A GRAPHIC designer has created coloured prints of iconic Clare lighthouses on his journey to capture every lighthouse guarding the Irish coast, inspired by his boyhood hero Tintin.  Bert DuFour has spent the last three years and travelled over 2,000km trying to capture all 80 operational lighthouses dotted around our coastline, including Clare’s Beeves Rock, Blackhead, Kilcredaun and Loop Head.  Fifty-five lighthouses across the country have so far been framed as artworks – and now his huge project will go on public show at Gifted, Contemporary Craft and Design Fair at Dublin’s RDS from November 30 to December 4. “There is a beauty to these towers, and how they stand over the ocean,” said Belgian native Bert, who moved to Clonakilty, Co Cork, in 2011.  “I am gobsmacked by how these structures were created 150 to 200 years ago. I find how they were built and where they were built utterly fascinating.”  Bert, who started design business, The Designer of Things, …

LOOP Head Lighthouse is to play a key role in a moment of national solidarity this month. Photographs of front-line workers are to be beamed onto the Clare lighthouse in tribute to their tireless work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The images were taken by photographer Jeanette Lowe and are one of six projection instalments across the country which will be illuminated in the days leading up to the winter solstice. The art installations will form part of a nationwide multi-platform event Shine Your Light, or Lonraigh Do Sholas. The event will also feature a live TV broadcast on RTÉ One featuring Clare’s Sharon Shannon, and a radio special on RTÉ Radio 1. Funded by Creative Ireland, the Shine Your Light installations by Irish artists will be visible around the country from December 17 to 20 and will bring artworks from the Illuminations online gallery to epic and dramatic locations including Loop Head, bringing light, hope and colour to towns and …

Ham radio enthusiasts will convene at Loop Head Lighthouse this weekend to connect with hundreds of lighthouses and lightships around the world. The Limerick Radio Club,which includes members from Limerick, Clare, Offaly and Tipperary, will broadcast non-stop for 48 hours from the lighthouse on Friday, Saturday and Sunday August as part of the 19th International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend. Clare County Council, along and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), is facilitating the broadcast from Loop Head Lighthouse, while the Limerick Radio Club has also received approval from the Communications Regulator. During the broadcast, visitors to the lighthouse will be able to listen into communications with some of the other participating ham radio operators broadcasting from 400 other lighthouses and lightships in 50 countries. Last year, Limerick Radio Club members based at Loop Head Lighthouse successfully connected with fellow enthusiasts as far away as Hawaii and Australia. The annual event, which is sponsored of the Ayr Amateur Radio Group (AARG) in Scotland, …

Loop Head Lighthouse is to reopen to the public on Saturday. Clare County Council, which manages the facility in conjunction with the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), says the historic lighthouse will remain open daily (10am-6pm) until October. The popular tourist attraction attracted 26,932 visitors during 2015. The figure represents an increase of 6,564 or 32% on 2014 visitor numbers. Loop Head Lighthouse is a landmark location on the Loop Head Heritage Trail which was named winner of the ‘Culture and Heritage’ category of the 2015 World Responsible Tourism Awards. It is also one of 12 lighthouses which make up Great Lighthouses of Ireland, a new all-island tourism initiative, and is one of two Signature Discovery Points in County Clare along the route of the Wild Atlantic Way. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, James Breen said the lighthouse has become “a key driver” of visitor numbers to the Loop Head Peninsula since it was first opened to the public in …

Loop Head lighthouse has consolidated its position as one of West Clare’s best tourist attractions. Figures for the period April 3 to August 31 show that 23,000 people visited the lighthouse, a 13% increase on the entire figure for 2014. This is the historic landmark’s fifth year of operation. 47.5% of the total visitor figure up to Sunday, August 30, is represented by Irish visitors, with Germany, North America, UK, France and Italy collectively accounting for 42.2% of the overall figure. Clare County Council, which manages Loop Head Lighthouse in conjunction with the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), says the facility will remain open daily (10am-6pm) until October 4. For the first time ,meanwhile, the attraction will be opened to the public during weekends in October. Councillor James Breen, cathaoirleach of Clare County Council said, “The 19th century West Clare landmark is certainly benefiting from its designation as a Signature Discovery Point on the Wild Atlantic Way and as one …

The historic Loop Head Lighthouse is to reopen to the public on Good Friday. The 19th century West Clare landmark will be looking to capitalise on its designation as a Signature Discovery Point on the Wild Atlantic Way by exceeding the 20,368 visitors it recorded during its six-month opening period during 2014. Clare County Council, which manages Loop Head Lighthouse, in conjunction with the Commissioners of Irish Lights, says the facility will remain open daily (10am-6pm) until October 4. “2014, which was the lighthouse’s fourth year of operation as a visitor attraction, saw visitor figures buoyed by the development of new services at Shannon Airport, favourable weather conditions and the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way,” said Gerard Dollard, director of services, Tourism & Community, Clare County Council. “We are confident that its status as one of Clare’s most popular visitor attractions as well as a Signature Discovery Point on the Wild Atlantic Way will garner further interest from domestic …

By Peter O’Connell FIGURES released on Tuesday show more than 19,000 people (14,101 adults, 5,082 children) visited Loop Head Lighthouse during the six-month opening period up to Sunday, September 29. Clare County Council, which manages the facility in conjunction with the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), said preliminary estimates indicate 75% of the total visitor figure was represented by domestic visitors, of which approximately 55% were holidaymakers and 30% were day trippers. Local visitors accounted for the remainder. Overseas visitors made up 25% of the total figure. The lighthouse was opened on a weekend basis from St Patrick’s weekend until mid-May, after which it was opened daily until the end of September. Opening hours were extended by two hours to 7.30pm during late July and August to accommodate the surge in visitor numbers to the West Clare landmark this summer. The visitor figures represent a jump of 2,000 on the same period in 2012. Last year’s figures showed that 17,423 …