Lighthouse
tours and prints of Ireland |
'An Eagle's View of Irish Lighthouses' |
The Irish Lighthouses Series
Postcard Collection
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Ireland's Lighthouses
~ A Photo Essay by John Eagle |
| The biggest selling website for exhibition quality prints of Irish Lighthouses. John Eagle has been making prints of Irish lighthouses since 1992 |
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Please select a lighthouse from the lists or click on the map
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| A postcard of every lighthouse on the Irish Coast, 2 guide books on how to reach all of them and prints for framing from the original, raw image, negative or slide, made to exhibition standard. Great care and attention is given to each order, mailed all over the World. Also tours of the lighthouses given twice a year |
| Irish Lights helicopter, seen here on the pad at Castletownbere, EC 135 Eurocopter |
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carries 8 including the pilot, is ultra modern inside with monitors replacing the old dials the Bolkow had |
Its much more fun to receive a postcard than a mobile text
On this site there is a complete record of all the major lighthouses on the 2,700 mile coastline of Ireland. Over 10 years of work photographing the lighthouses from helicopters, boats and from the shore using the best camera equipment known to mankind. A dedicated project to show the work that went into building these towers, in a time now when all are automated. As well as all the major lighthouses there are many of the minor ones included as well
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| Slide Shows |
Postcards |
Mix 'n Match |
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| Workshops |
Book |
Prints |
| Irish lighthouses are built like fortresses, built to withstand violent Atlantic storms. Take Eagle Island for example, which stands close to the Continental Shelf where powerful waves surge up and pound the island. A massive storm wall had to be constructed to defend the lighthouse there. There used to be two lighthouses. One of them was destroyed in a storm and to this day debris litters the ground there. On one occasion a rock was thrown up the high cliffs by a severe storm, it smashed the glass and then the tower filled up with water. (The tower is 220 feet above high water) The door had to be drilled to let the water before it could be opened. Most of the lighthouses have a protective wall, however for some like the Fastnet this is not possible. The Fastnet is protected by its hour glass shape, see the left hand column, It might look majestic standing there on the rock 4 miles out to sea, but it was built in that fashion so as to make the waves split on impact and thereby not punch the tower and in so doing create less wear and damage. Many lighthouses in North America, on the Great Lakes for example, are made of wood. No point building them of wood in Ireland, as they wouldn't last five minutes so to speak. High up on dangerous cliffs, out on lonely rocks, Irish lighthouses were built to last and most have stood for well over 150 years. A recent survey of the Fastnet has shown that the Cornish granite is standing up very well to the constant battering it receives from the Atlantic waves. You can read more about the storms that have hit Eagle Island in my book which also includes pictures of the rubble, the protecting wall and the towers. The book covers 50 of the lighthouses on the Irish coastline, all pictures in colour |
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| As well as prints of Irish lighthouses my
Views of Ireland Prints are much sought after, always printed to the highest specification by my pro lab |
The Series took me over ten years to complete, a great deal of love and attention went into the project and I hope you will enjoy what I have done. You can view all the postcards I have ever made by clicking on Catalogue
The postcards are available in one complete set, or in sets per county . If you would prefer to pick an assortment from various parts of the country then please do so, and contact me for a price.
You can Mix and Match postcards, buy only what takes your fancy click here Some from this county, some from that & some non lighthouse postcards as well perhaps
Click on Counties tab to choose small amounts of postcards. There you can buy the postcards of the counties, like County Cork, Kerry etc.
In 2007 I released 3 new lighthouse postcards, click here to see them
I wish to thank the Commissioners of Irish Lights and Irish Helicopters in particular for without their combined help I would not have come close to getting this project completed in the way I have done it articular the pilots Captain Mick Conneely, Capt Colm Martyn, Capt. Pete Hodges and Captain Mick Hennessy who flew me.
I very much hope you enjoy your visit to my Irish Lighthouse website....John Eagle |
