Light House, The Harbour (South pier), Donaghadee, Co Down

Light House, The Harbour (South Pier), Donaghadee

A late Georgian lighthouse of national importance, completed in 1834-36 and situated at the north end of the south pier of Donaghadee Harbour. The structure remains largely intact and continues to function as a beacon, forming a valuable element within the wider harbour grouping.

The lighthouse is a round, tapering tower of four storeys, topped with an octagonal lantern house. It is constructed of horizontally grooved (rusticated) Angsea limestone and painted white, standing on a sturdy curved base painted black. The west-facing side features an imposing doorway with broad plain pilasters on tall thick bases and broad, squat curved brackets supporting a thick plain entablature. A copper dedication plaque is set into the centre of the entablature, installed when the lantern was converted to electricity in 1934. The panelled door is recessed, and simple wrought iron railings with a gate enclose the base directly in front of the doorway.

The north and south sides of the tower each contain three narrow recessed two-pane windows—one on each of the ground, first, and second floors. At the top of the tower, a corbelled platform supports the lantern house, which has a battered base and curved cap. Wrought iron railings run around the edge of the platform. Directly below the corbelling are several small recessed windows.

The lighthouse was completed as part of the new Donaghadee Harbour, designed by John Rennie with David Logan. Rennie died shortly after work commenced in August 1821 and was succeeded by his son, also named John. The south pier was completed around 1825-26, but the lighthouse was not finished until November 1834. Originally the structure was unpainted and the lantern was lit by paraffin. In 1900 the lantern and optic were badly damaged by fire. The lighthouse was painted black during the Second World War in an attempt to make it less visible to enemy bombers. In 1950 a fog signal for the fishing fleet was added. As the first lighthouse in Ireland to be converted to electricity, Donaghadee achieved this milestone in 1934.