AUGUST 2008
Moville light restoration work completed
The Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners (LPHC) has completed
restoration work on the Moville 19th Century lighthouse in Lough
Foyle, which has long been a symbolic image for the town and many
local organisations such as movilleinishowen.com, the boat club,
GAA and local schools use it in their logo.
Bill McCann from Shrove, LPHC harbour master says “Moville
Light is the Eiffel Tower of Moville.” Everybody associates
Moville with the lighthouse and there is a sense of pride surrounding
it. It also plays a vital role in guiding shipping safely through
Lough Foyle.”
Bill said the restoration work involved replacing the handrail
round the outside and the door of the housing on top, as well as
refurbishing the housing and painting the cast iron structure. The
lighthouse which was installed in the 1800s is one of just three
of its kind remaining in Ireland, with the other two in Dundalk
and Cobh, according to the Commissioners of Irish Lights.
Retired Captain Charlie McCann, Bill McCann’s father, says
he remembers when the lighthouse was lit by a paraffin lamp, and
a keeper would row out at night, light it and remain overnight in
the single-roomed house on top in case the light went out. Since
then the lighthouse has been converted to gas, and most recently
to solar-power.
The lighthouse is a quarter mile offshore from the town, is 13
metres high and has a distinctive white house on top. It flashes
once every 2.5 seconds and is what is known as a 'sectored' light.
This means it flashes white or red, depending which way you approach
it. “The light is white when you are in safely in the deeper
water of the channel, but flashes red when you veer towards Moville
Bank inshore,” says the harbour master.
The light can be seen from four miles away, and is one of a network
of now unmanned lighthouses around the island. As an offshore lighthouse
on the lough, responsibility for its operation and maintenance rests
with the harbour board in Derry, who say they are delighted that
this latest restoration work is now complete.
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