Eagle Island lighthouses
The Eagle Island lighthouses were a pair of lighthouses on Eagle Island, County Mayo, Ireland, of which only one remains. Two lighthouses were commissioned in 1830 in response to requests from the Coastguards who were concerned at the sea conditions at Blackrock, further south. The Board inspector, however, ruled in favour of locating the new lighthouses on Eagle Island, one in the east and the other in the west, with between them, at a cost of almost £40,000 (roughly £ or € in ). Their lights were aligned at a height of above sea level and could be seen to the east as far as Broadhaven Bay and to the south as far as Blacksod Bay. The lighthouses became operational in September 1835. Eagle Island is located close to the edge of the Continental Shelf and is constantly pounded by powerful waves from the Atlantic. When the lighthouses were first built in the 19th century there were two lighthouses and seven dwelling houses on Eagle Island, according to the 1841 census. By the 1911 census there was only one dwelling house listed on the island. Despite the erection of a massive storm wall to protect the lighthouses, one of the