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Designed by George Haplin, Haulbowline Lighthouse was completed in 1824. This was following a request by the merchants of Newry to the Corporation for Preserving and Improving the Port of Dublin (the Ballast Board) to replace the 1803 Cranfield Point Lighthouse due to its poor position to mark treacherous rocks and its inability for guiding vessels at the west end of Carlingford Lough. The Cranfield Point Lighthouse eventually fell victim to coastal erosion and collapsed in 1860.
Haulbowline Lighthouse takes its name from the rocky bank on which it stands, a Norse name meaning ‘haunt of the eels’. Construction of Haulbowline’s stone tower, at 112 feet, on a semi-submerged rock with fast currents running around it, was a remarkable achievement at the time. Originally white in colour, the paint was removed in 1946 to reveal the stone beneath. The stone is of ashlar granite with a bell-mouth splay at its foot. This bell mouth profile reflects the fact that base of the tower is wave-washed and the need to reduce the impact of wave action.
Attached to the base on the landward side is the landing stage, from where there is a vertical metal ladder guiding to a balcony where there are two wooden doors leading to the interior of the tower. There are eight floors in the tower, with one function per room which is characteristic of lighthouses, although the original workings have been removed. Third from the top was the kitchen which had an iron coal-fired range for heat and cooking. Second from the top was the keepers’ bedroom containing four cased-in bunks one above the other.
The lantern room was on the top floor. The fixed primary light is situated at 105 feet above sea level and a half tide light was also displayed approximately half way up the tower on a balcony on the seaward side. The primary light was magnified fifty times by the powerful lenses bull’s eye and concentrated into a beam.
The channels of communication with the shore was by Morse lamp and semaphore. A bell was struck by a machine every thirty seconds during foggy weather. On 1st September 1898 the fog bell was changed to an explosive fog signal repeating at five-minute intervals. Marking the narrow channel within Carlingford Lough near Haulbowline are the leading lights of Green Island and Vidal Bank. The lighthouse keepers at Haulbowline historically also maintained these lights.
The light was converted to electric on 17th March 1965, designating the Haulbowline Lighthouse as the first Irish major offshore lighthouse to be fully automated and monitored remotely from land. The turning light was discontinued on 16th July 2008 and the fog signal was permanently disestablished on 8th January 2009. On 1st July 2011 the range of light was reduced to 10 nautical miles with the light being exhibited during hours of darkness only.
The Haulbowline Lighthouse will celebrate its bicentenary in 2024.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the exhibition galleries on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling our Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org for further information.
Please visit our website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk
