Tuskar Rock () is a group of rocks topped by a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
off the southeast coast of
County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. The rocks have probably destroyed more ships than any other Irish coastal feature. One hundred and seventy-six wrecks are listed for the Tuskar Rock area at ''Irish Wrecks Online''.
The Tuskar Rock lighthouse, built from granite and standing tall, was built over a period of years beginning in
1812
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The ''Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire.
* January 19 – Peninsular War: The French-held fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo Siege ...
. In October of that year, a storm struck, washing away temporary barracks that had been erected on the island, and killing fourteen workmen—the worst such disaster in Ireland's history of lighthouse construction.
[Krauskopf, Sharma (2001) ''Irish Lighthouses''; p.15.] The surviving workers clung to the island's slippery rocks for two full days before being discovered and rescued.
Work resumed, and the lighthouse was completed, entering into operation on 4 June
1815
Events
January
* January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England.
* January 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Pr ...
.
The
Tuskar Rock air disaster occurred near the rock on 24 March 1968 when
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish , meaning "air fleet") is an Irish airline company which is the flag carrier of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 201 ...
flight 712, en route from Cork to London, crashed into the sea with the loss of all 61 people on board.
The name Tuskar rock has no foundation in the Irish language but actually came from the Vikings. It is one of many Viking place names found in the south of Wexford and means simply large (tu) rock (skar) in
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
.
[Billy Colfer (2004) ''The Hook Peninsula: County Wexford ']
p30
Cork University Press
Tuskar lighthouse is mentioned in
John Masefield
John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer. He was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until his death in 1967, during which time he lived at Burcot, Oxfordshire, near Abingdon ...
's ballad ''The Yarn of the Loch Achray'' as the place where the clipper ''Loch Achray'' dropped her tug, before sailing to the South Atlantic where she was wrecked off the River Plate.
Demographics
See also
*
List of islands of Ireland
This is a list of islands of Ireland. Ireland is itself an island, lying west of the island of Great Britain and northwest of mainland Europe.
The Hebrides off Scotland and Anglesey off Wales were grouped with Ireland ("Hibernia") by the Greco ...
*
List of lighthouses in Ireland
This is a list of lighthouses in Ireland. The Commissioners of Irish Lights are responsible for the majority of marine navigation aids around the island though a small number are maintained by local harbour authorities. The main list identifie ...
*
Coastal landforms of Ireland
Ireland is an island surrounded by water, with a coastline. This list catalogues about 400 of the coastal landforms of the island including bays, estuaries, harbours, headlands, and many others.Commissioners of Irish Lights
The Commissioners of Irish Lights (), 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 adjacent seas and islands. As the lighthouse a ...
References
{{Authority control , additional=Q28791812
Lighthouses in the Republic of Ireland
Uninhabited islands of Ireland
Islands of County Wexford
Lighthouses on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage