March 17, 1813
A newly completed lighthouse on Inishtrahull Island, which is about five nautical miles (t0 kilometers) off the coast of County Donegal in Ireland, first went into service. Inishtrahull Lighthouse was designed by renowned civil engineer George Halpini Sr., who had been appointed inspector of lighthouse for the Dublin Ballast Board in 1810. Halpin remained inspector until his death in 1854.
Inishtrahull Lighthouse achieved fame as Ireland’s northernmost lighthouse. It was built primarily to serve as a navigational aid for ships of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that routinely sailed to and from Lough Foyle, an estuary of the River Foyle in that region of Ireland. (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland remained in existence until the establishment of the Irish Free State, forerunner of the present-day Republic of Ireland, in 1922.)
The original version of Inishtrahull Lighthouse (pictured above) was replaced in 1958 by a new structure that remains in operation today.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on both Inishtrahull Lighthouses, please check out https://www.irishlights.ie/tourism/our-lighthouses/inishtrahull.aspx
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