George Halpin (Sr.) (1779? – 8 July 1854), was a prominent civil engineer and lighthouse builder, responsible for the construction of much of the Port of Dublin, several of Dublin's bridges, and a number of lighthouses; he is considered the founding father of the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

lighthouse service. His son, , was also a well-known lighthouse builder.

Biography

Very little is known of Halpin's early life, though it is known that his background was in the building trade rather than in engineering. In 1800, he was made the Inspector of Works for the Dublin Ballast Board (the predecessor to the

Commissioners of 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 ...

), succeeding Francis Tunstall, and in this capacity was responsible for a number of works.Skempton, p. 293 One of these, the Bull Wall, along with associated projects, led to the creation of

Bull Island Bull Island (Irish: ''Oileán an Tairbh''), more properly North Bull Island (Irish: ''Oileán an Tairbh Thuaidh''), is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off C ...

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay ( ga, Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dub ...

, and enabled deep-draught ships to use the port for the first time.Skempton, p. 294 Halpin was appointed the Inspector of Lighthouses in 1810. Between then and 1867 Irish lighthouses increased from fourteen to seventy-two under his direction. He established 53 new lighthouses, in addition to modernising a further 15: his projects included the Baily Lighthouse, the second Copeland Island Lighthouse, and the Skelligs Lighthouse. He also set up the Irish lighthouse service's administration and management procedures, regularised employment of

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 ...

s, and continued to oversee the development of Dublin's port. Halpin died in 1854, and was buried in

Mount Jerome Cemetery Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, Dublin. He was succeeded as Inspector of Lighthouses by his son.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Gillingan, H. A. ''History of The Port of Dublin'', Gill & Macmillen, 1988, , contains an overview of Halpin's career. * Skempton, Sir A. & Chrimes, M. (eds)
A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland: 1500 to 1830
', Thomas Telford, 2002, {{DEFAULTSORT:Halpin, George 1779 births 1854 deaths Irish civil engineers Lighthouse builders Burials at Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium

Biography

See also

References