Rosslare Lighthouse, County Wexford

The first lighthouse recorded at Rosslare port dates back to 1886 although no record of its appearance survives. The present lighthouse dates from 1906 when the new pier was built to facilitate the larger ferries crossing to the South Wales coast and later to France.

The origins of Rosslare as a cross-channel ferry port began more than century ago in 1898, when a joint act of Parliament established the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company to provide a service from London to southern Ireland.

After the visit of Queen Victoria to Killarney in 1861, it became a popular tourist attraction and as soon as it was feasible, railway companies operated day excursions from London to Killarney travelling out overnight on a Friday and returning that weekend with a return express train to the port. The new company was tasked with constructing new facilities at Fishguard and Rosslare as well as establishing a direct railway link between Rosslare Harbour and Cork.

The route officially opened in the summer of 1906 when a special train conveyed the Viceroy, Lord Aberdeen, and other dignitaries from Dublin’s Kingsbridge station (now Heuston) to Waterford and then over the new route while the Great Western Railway operated one of the new steamers from Fishguard to the official opening. The route still survives today despite the changing transport scene from when the first sailings began in 1906.

The Lighthouse itself is an iron framed circular construction enveloped in metal sheeting and it perches like a toy lantern at the end of the harbour wall. Due to security issues, it is no longer accessible to the public. The light shows white from the harbour, green from north and red when approaching from the southeast.

Location:    52°15’25.85″North,  6°20’15.75″West.

Elevation:   15m

Character:  Occulting, Period 5s, flash 4s, eclipse 1s

Range:         W: 28 km, R & G :18 km