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Ireland’s Hook Lighthouse is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the world. The tapering headland of Hook Head is in the southwestern part of County Wexford, on the southeast coast of Ireland below Dublin. In the fifth century, a monastery was established on the peninsula. According to tradition, the early monks from the monastery erected a beacon that burned fire to warn mariners away from the dangerous rocks on the Hook peninsula. A more substantial lighthouse tower was built around the year 1200. The tower was constructed of local limestone and it stands four stories high with walls up to 13 feet thick.
The light was automated in 1996 and the last light keepers were removed. The old keepers’ houses were turned into a visitor center and the light station was opened to the public in 2001. There’s also a café on the site.
Noel Lynch is a tour guide and entertainer at the Hook Lighthouse.
We’re posting both the usual audio version of this episode and also video of the interview.
The video version of the interview is below.
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:00 — 31.4MB) | Embed
U.S. Lighthouse Society Historian Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of 24 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is a past president of the American Lighthouse Foundation and founder of Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouses, and he has lectured and narrated cruises throughout the Northeast and in other regions. He is also the producer and host of the U.S. Lighthouse Society’s weekly podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org
I just finished watching the Hook Lighthouse on utube and loved every minute. thank you Jeremy…
Glad you enjoyed it! Noel is a fantastic tour guide.