Reg No
30404801
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social, Technical
Original Use
Lighthouse
In Use As
Lighthouse
Date
1835 - 1840
Coordinates
51454, 241148
Date Recorded
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Date Updated
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Freestanding multiple-stage lighthouse, erected 1836. round plan with tapering sides and having metal and glazed lantern. Set within walled compound having ancillary buildings. Second lighthouse to south, now roofless, also built 1836, decommissioned 1898 and comprising cylindrical tower set within walled compound with ancillary buildings. Both lighthouses sited on rocky islet off Slyne Head.
The Slyne Head lighthouse has protected the Atlantic coast of Galway for over 170 years. George Halpin, the noted engineer, designed the current lighthouse, the ruined one and the accompanying keepers' houses, store houses and other ancillary structures, extensively using stone from the island as well as some sandstone and granite from the mainland. The site has known much tragedy during the construction and thereafter.