The waterfront of Belfast, Northern Ireland, is home to one of the world’s biggest tourist attractions: Titanic Belfast, also known as the Titanic Museum. The museum opened in 2012 and attracted more than six million people in its first seven years of operation. In 2018, two important new attractions – the Great Light and Titanic Walkway – officially opened to the public near the museum. The so-called Great Light is the world’s first and largest hyper-radial Fresnel lens — the largest and most powerful lighthouse lenses ever made. It was originally installed in Tory Island Lighthouse in 1887, and it went through some unusual changes over the years.
Dr. Sally Montgomery has been a science educator for more than 40 years. She is currently a board member of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, a board member of the Titanic Foundation, and a former trustee of the Maritime Belfast Trust. Sally has done much in-depth research on the history of the Great Light.
Focus 244 is a new photography gallery in York, Maine. This month the gallery is hosting a lighthouse festival, featuring an artists’ reception on July 22, kids’ activities on July 23, and also an evening presentation by “Light Hearted” host Jeremy D’Entremont on July 23. Shannon Culpepper is the curator of the Focus 244 gallery.
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Jeremy D’Entremont is the author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouses and maritime history. He is the president and historian for 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 podcast, “Light Hearted.” He can be emailed at Jeremy@uslhs.org