Blackrock Island (; ga, An Tor) is a rocky island rising to a height of 70 metres above sea level and located northwest of

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by Michael Davitt Br ...

approximately 12 miles west of Blacksod Bay. Typical rainfall is 72 inches per annum, and the island is often shrouded in mist. It is visible from near the Glosh Tower on the

Mullet Peninsula The Mullet Peninsula ( ga, Leithinis an Mhuirthead)—also known as the Mullet (''an Mhuirthead'') and sometimes as the Erris Peninsula—is a peninsula in the barony of Erris in County Mayo, Ireland. As of 2016 it has a population of 3963. I ...

, and, with reference to the other islands in the area, is sometimes described as the "one that looks like a volcano". There is a small rocky islet 125 m to the east with a length of 80 m. There are about five rocky islets including Fish Rock, Carrickaduff and Carrackabrown spread 1 km to 2 km in a generally westwards direction.

Toponymy

It is known locally as ''Tór Mór'', and is known as "Black Rock" by

Irish Lights The Commissioners of Irish Lights ( ga, Coimisinéirí Soilse na hÉireann), often shortened to Irish Lights or CIL, is the body that serves as the general lighthouse authority for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and their adjacen ...

Waters around Blackrock Island

The waters around Blackrock Island are noted for large ocean swells and waves, as evidenced by the difficulties faced in relieving the lighthouse keepers and with Rescue 116 helicopter wreckage recovery in 2017. Water depths descend to 40 m within a kilometre of the island, with depths of 60 m and lower more typical towards

. The Blackrock grounds are popular with sea anglers due to the attracting of larger fish species: blue shark;

porbeagle The porbeagle (''Lamna nasus'') is a species of mackerel shark in the family Lamnidae, distributed widely in the cold and temperate marine waters of the North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere. In the North Pacific, its ecological equivalent is ...

;

halibut Halibut is the common name for three flatfish in the genera '' Hippoglossus'' and '' Reinhardtius'' from the family of right-eye flounders and, in some regions, and less commonly, other species of large flatfish. The word is derived from ''h ...

and

bluefin tuna Bluefin tuna is a common name used to refer to several species of tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, th ...

Blackrock Lighthouse

The lighthouse on Blackrock Island was constructed in 1864. It is a 50-foot-high round stone tower with lantern and gallery attached to a single storey keeper's house. The lighthouse is painted white. It is one of Ireland's most remote lighthouses and the most westerly lighthouse off the Mayo Coast. It was converted to automatic in 1974 after which the island became uninhabited. The lighthouse was converted to solar power in 1999. The resident

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

of Blacksod Lighthouse on the mainland, which is still staffed, is also responsible for maintaining the Blackrock lighthouse. Inspection and maintenance visits are periodically made by helicopter (via a helipad on the island), the only way to get to the island on a regular basis. In order to accommodate work-crews on extended maintenance and repair jobs at the lighthouse, one of the old keeper's houses has been restored.

Accidents and incidents associated with the island

Loss of lighthouse keeper in 1937

In September 1937 the then lighthouse-keeper, Patrick Monaghan, was swept from the lighthouse by a freak wave. The visit of his descendants to the island is described in the

RTÉ radio RTÉ Radio is a division of the Irish national broadcasting organisation Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Radio broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels nationwide. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, the first broadcaster in t ...

documentary "Good Day at Blackrock".

Attack by German bomber in 1940

On 20 August 1940, a German bomber attacked the SS ''Macville'' which was passing close to the island and damaged several lantern panes and the roof. A

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', also known as ''Kurier'' to the Allies ( English: Courier), was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner. A Japanese request for a long-range mariti ...

Kampfgeschwader 40 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-eng ...

was claimed to have dropped two SD250 bombs and damaged a freighter southwest of Blacksod (possibly ''Macville'') on this date, with other sources confirming damage (though no confirmed casualties) to ''Macville''.

Stranding of keepers in 1942-1943

Three lighthouse keepers were stranded on Blackrock Island in the winter of 1942-1943 during the Emergency in World War II. Storms were particularly ferocious in this period and the landing stage and associated derricks were destroyed in the gales. The keepers, who normally expected to be supplied every 10 days, who started with reduced supplies due to being subject to rationing in the emergency, were at points critically low on supplies. Captain John Padden at considerable risk made several resupply attempts and supply baskets on a few occasions were successfully thrown to the island. On 17 February 1943, in a short lull in the weather he was able to relieve Walter Coupe (117 days) and Michael O'Conner (~ 90 days). Jack Scott, the principal keeper, remained to direct recovery operations.

Crash of Rescue 116 in 2017

On 14 March 2017 the Irish coast guard Rescue R116 helicopter impacted the island with the wreckage coming to rest in 40 m of water south west of the island with four persons lost. The preliminary report of the

Air Accident Investigation Unit The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) ( ga, An tAonad um Imscrúdú Aerthionóiscí) is part of the Department of Transport of Ireland, and is responsible for the investigation of aircraft accidents and serious incidents within Ireland, and ...

had found that (as of March 2017) Blackrock Island had been omitted or had an incorrect and significantly lower height in some

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin wo ...

and obstacle

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...

References

External links

Commissioners of Irish Lights
{{Authority control , additional=Q106162069 Islands of County Mayo 1940 in Ireland Battle of the Atlantic Military history of Ireland Maritime incidents in Ireland Lighthouses in the Republic of Ireland Lighthouses on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage