In disrepair: the Passage East Spit Light Beacon.
A CALL has been made to save the Passage East Spit Light Beacon which is currently in poor condition.
At the September plenary meeting of Waterford City & County Council, Cllr Pat Fitzgerald (SF) explained that the beacon has been in the Waterford Estuary for 154 years.
“It’s a navigational aid for the Port of Waterford,” he said.
However, Cllr Fitzgerald said the Port of Waterford had informed him that because it was in such a poor state of repair they could no longer justify sending personnel to the lighthouse.
“I believe it’s not cost effective to renovate the lighthouse and they are talking about replacing it with another structure,” he said.
Cllr Fitzgerald said the lighthouse was “part of our industrial heritage” and asked the Council to write to An Taisce and the Department of the Marine asking them to maintain the structure.
Cllr John Carey (FG) supported Cllr Fitzgerald’s calls and it was agreed that Waterford City & County Council would write to the relevant parties.
The recent experience of seafarer Gary Curran supports the call to preserve and restore the beacon.
“I was sailing down from Waterford to Dunmore East…and had a few anxious moments when I passed Passage East and was unable to find my next planned light reference point, the ‘spit’. “I was doing the trip without the aid of GPS to practice my chart work so I had a few moments of panic and confusion when my pilotage plan was not going smoothly because the light was not where I thought it was and where it was shown to be on my charts.
“I can understand the history and importance of this structure to the local community and agree that the spit should be renovated but please, fix the light sooner rather than later.
“I’m sure there was a navigation warning given somewhere along the line about the light not working but this didn’t help on the night.”
A meeting organised by the Barony of Gaultier Historical Society to discuss the beacon’s future was held in Dunmore’s Ocean Hotel on September 9th.
The meeting, which was addressed by retired UCC Archaeology Professor Peter Woodman, urged locals on either side of the Estuary to contact port, local authority and Oireachtas representatives, along with the Commission of Irish Lights.