![]() ![]() “In Ireland, people are looking at them as more of a tourist attraction. They still recruit lighthouse keepers there. The reason being, if everything failed, they’d have a human to contact. “In Canada they stopped a lot of automation now. "It was very hard to get a job in the organisation unless you had family in it. ![]() “When I was a child living at lighthouses, it seemed to be more of a secretive organisation. I chat to Alan next to the Old Head’s five ton rotating bulb, as he talks about what it was like in those early years, and observes some of the changes he has noticed in lighthouse culture recently. The day after automation kicked in, he began his part-time role as a lighthouse attendant and has been there ever since.Īlan Boyers, of The Old Head Lighthouse, Kinsale. He worked there full time until it became fully automated in 1993. "In my 18 years as a lighthouse keeper, I was never one day overdue, anywhere.”īetween 19, Geoff was stationed full time on The Bull Rock and because he was living in Schull, his next lighthouse to maintain was Mizen Head. ![]() You would often hear stories of keepers being stuck on the Fastnet or somewhere for 96 days because of bad weather. “I joined around the time that helicopter rescues were coming in. He says he joined the Irish Lights at a good time. Rather than be a foot short of any material, they’d send down an extra mile just in case,” Geoff recalls. There was lots of different equipment to pick up on. Some had diesel power, some had fog signals, some had state of the art generators. Every lighthouse had its own equipment, so it was a matter of learning the ropes at each station. “It was like serving an apprenticeship, you went from pillar to post, because you had everything from paraffin power to nuclear power. Each was unique and had different ways of doing things. Geoff served on most of the lighthouses all around the country. there was a plethora of skills we needed under our belts before we went out as Assistant Lighthouse Keepers.” “It was a six week training course, covering everything from radiotelephony to crockery, engine maintenance, morse code, nuts and splices, boat landings, helicopter drills. “I think we were the third tranche of trainees that went through the lighthouse depot in Dún Laoghaire. “I came to Ireland to join the Lighthouses specifically,” he says. Without much thought, he found himself living in Ireland full time and training as a lighthouse keeper. Geoff had grown up in southern Yorkshire’s coal mining belt to Co Kerry parents, so had spent most summers in Ireland. It was 1975, and around that same time his uncle, who was a lightkeeper at Ballycotton, told him about a recruitment drive at Irish Lights. He enjoyed teaching but the staffroom politics had him pondering what might be next in his career. Geoff McCarthy began his working life as a secondary school in Yorkshire. Signature Night signal: 1 white flash every 4 seconds When people stay in a place like that, they want to have somebody who is cheerful and makes them feel at home,” says Butt.Geoff McCarthy near Mizen Head lighthouse. ![]() “The other thing is you need to have an outgoing personality. The two keepers don’t have to be a couple, but they will share close quarters – so buddying up with someone you get on well with is probably advisable. The inn’s open four days a week and also hosts special events, including weddings. Other job requirements include serving high quality food, housekeeping and ferrying guests from the mainland to the island. “Unfortunately a lot of people who respond to this, they say ‘Oh, surely I can get a license?’ They think it’s like getting drivers’ license – and it’s not, if you don’t have it, you’re not going to get it,” says Butt. You’ll need a US Coast Guard commercial boat operator’s license. CREDIT: AlmonrothĪpplicants need to have past experience in hospitality and a seafaring nature – sadly, it’s not enough to just be enamored with the romantic idea of living in a lighthouse. Applicants will need experience of seafaring and hospitality. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |