Lighthouses of Ireland beautify coastlines and save lives
The actual and legendary beauty of the Emerald Isle attracts visitors traditionally by sea and, since the twentieth century, by air. Various-sized freight, government, passenger, and private vessels still brave Ireland’s rough coastal waters despite the varying currents and temperatures of:
• the Atlantic Ocean on the west;
• the Celtic Sea on the south;
• the Irish Sea on the east;
• Saint George’s Channel on the southeast.
Arrival by sea historically and presently can be a choppy, wild ride whose successful transit is made less stressfully and more purposefully by Éire’s vigilant chain of:
• coastal bonfires during prehistoric times;
• coastal towers during the Roman occupation;
• iron cauldrons during the Dark Ages;
• lighthouses from the twelfth century onward.
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Email: [email protected]
Fax: +353 – 1 – 271 – 5566
Physical address: Commissioners of Irish Lights, Harbour Road, Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland Telephone: +353 – 1 – 271 – 5400
Website: http://www.cil.ie
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Comments
frankbeswick, Guido for any Italian and Paddy for anyone from Ireland can be used affectionately and -- unfortunately -- mildly ironically and outright condescendingly on this side of the pond.
frankbeswick, Thank you for the insights. Is there any interpretation as to why a form of Welsh was spoken in southwest Scotland? That makes me think, in a reverse way, of Fleance in the Shakespearean play Macbeth leaving Scotland to establish royal family lines after making it to Wales.
The term paddy might be used in a racist sense or not. It can be used affectionately as a nickname or in belittling manner. I was unaware of the usage of the term Guido.
Alfsigr could be Norse, but it could also be Lallands Scots. Lallands and is was a version of Scots closely related to Northern English. The term alfs could be Norse or Anglo-Saxon,although ending a word with r used as a vowel is characteristically Norse. We need to realise that not all Scotland spoke Gaelic, which was the language of the Highlands. Lallands was spoken in south of Scotland and Cumbric, a version of Welsh,in the south West. This means that we need to accept that non-Gaelic etymology is not necessarily an intrusive Norse element, but possibly a native element derived from local languages.
frankbeswick, Thank you for the information about Paddy's Milestone, nickname for Ailsa Craig. Encyclopedia Britannica online describes Ailsa as originating from Gaelic words for "Fairy Rock." Scottish Girls Names online gives Alfsigr ("elf victory") as the origins in the "language of the Vikings" (Old Norse?). What is the interpretation on your side of the pond?
In another direction, Is "Paddy's milestone" emotion-laden or not? It, just as Guido for an Italian, may be quite insulting on this side of the pond.
Talking of Ireland's teardrop reminds me of its northern counterpart, Paddy's Milestone, Ailsa Craig, a mighty ocean stack not far from Scotland. The ships that took cargo and emigrants from Ireland to Glasgow used Ailsa Craig as the signpost that they were nearing Scotland. The ships that took the rough sea passage from the western Irish port of Ballina would go north past Donegal, through the often stormy waters north of Ireland with migrants sitting on the deck, whatever the weather. Ailsa Craig was a welcome sign that their uncomfortable journey was soon to conclude.
Veronica, Thank you for appreciating the DVD and my write-up. One of my favorite, most poignant episodes deals with the Fastnet Rock, Ireland's teardrop, as the last view that Irish emigrants had before they could see Ireland no more from the ship's rail.
frankbeswick, Thank you for the helpful, succinct information, on the precariousness of the approach, that somewhat was conveyed in the DVD. This is one of my favorites so it's on and off the shelf many times throughout the year.
This is just a delight … perfect . I am thrilled to read it . Thank you .
Getting to land on Skellig Michael is the difficult part. When the wind is blowing in a certain direction, I think from the east, no boat can land.