“We owe it to the Lecale Lightkeepers, to our fishing community, to our heritage, and to the generations yet to come to ensure that St John’s Point Lighthouse remains what it has always been – a true beacon.”
Those were the words of South Down MLA Colin McGrath (SDLP) in the Assembly last Tuesday (9 December), as he highlighted the campaign – led by the Lecale Lightkeepers group – to retain the Killough landmark’s sweeping beam, warning that “once the beam has gone, it will be gone forever.”
Last December, the Commissioners of Irish Lights submitted a planning application to carry out various works at the lighthouse, including the replacement “of the existing light source with a low-energy LED light source.”
Addressing fellow MLAs in the chamber, Mr McGrath described St John’s Point Lighthouse as “a treasure of the Lecale coastline” and “a sentinel that has watched over generations and guided countless fishermen and sailors safely home.”
“It is the tallest lighthouse on the island of Ireland and one of the last to maintain that beautiful and iconic sweeping beam,” he continued.
“It is a piece of engineering heritage that still performs its duty every night and is seen for miles around. At its heart is the Bourdelles rotation system, which rests on mercury-based bearings that are designed to allow the lens to glide with frictionless precision. That system has stood the test of time – it is remarkably efficient and remains in working order.”
“Yet plans are now in place from the Commissioners of Irish Lights to remove that system and replace it with metal-on-metal roller bearings, despite the planners rejecting such a proposal in 2018.”
The local representative described this proposal as “fundamentally flawed.”
“It may be called modernisation, but it is a step backwards in engineering,” he added. “It introduces friction, noise and wear into a mechanism that is currently smooth, silent, and reliable. I will be clear – a noisy, mechanical system being introduced into a quiet coastal environment will be disruptive to local wildlife, particularly marine and nocturnal species.”
The MLA also said that the introduction of the LED lighting would remove “the lighthouse’s character, identity, and purpose.”
“LED systems are prone to faults,” he stated. “They alter the visual signature that mariners depend on, and they carry well-documented ecological impacts that have been disastrously overlooked by the Historic Environment Division (HED) during the planning process. What we have at present works and works safely.”
Mr McGrath stressed the need to retain the sweeping beam due to it being “one of the last of its kind” and “a living link to our maritime history.”
“To extinguish it now would be an act of professional cultural vandalism,” he concluded. “Instead of recognising the enormous potential of St John’s Point lighthouse as a world-class tourist attraction, we face plans that would diminish it.”
“I acknowledge the extraordinary work of the Lecale Lightkeepers community campaign group – some of them are here today – which stands in defence of the sweeping beam. We owe it to the Lecale Lightkeepers, to our fishing community, to our heritage and to the generations yet to come to ensure that St John’s Point lighthouse remains what it has always been: a true beacon.”
“Once the beam has gone, it will be gone forever. We will never get another chance to protect it.”
Earlier this year, HED – which is within the Department for Communities – said that it was content with the proposed changes to the lighthouse, subject to conditions, and reaffirmed this in a submission to council planners on 3 December.
