Ballinacourty Point Lighthouse has marked the eastern side of the entrance to Dungarvan Harbour since 1 July 1858, when the Commissioners of Irish Lights first lit it to guide boats into the bay. It is the reason most people stop here. The 13m limestone tower sits on private land and you cannot go inside, so set your expectations accordingly: this is a place for a short shoreline walk and a look across the water, not a tour.
The light has changed with the times. The original oil lamps gave way to acetylene in 1929, and it was electrified on 12 February 1964. A 2005–06 upgrade put in four 35W halogen lamps producing the present character – Fl (2) WRG 10s, two flashes of white, red or green every ten seconds depending on which sector you are watching from. The focal plane stands 16m above the sea, with a range of 10 nautical miles in the white sector and 8 in the red and green.
What to see
If you only have time for one thing, walk the public shoreline at Ballinacourty Cove. The rocky shore and pebble beach give the clearest line on the tower, with Dungarvan Bay behind it, and it is the spot worth setting up for if you have a camera. The adjacent coastal path adds a few minutes more.
The headland is also home to the Gold Coast Golf Club, an 18-hole course with views over the bay, Clonea Strand and across to the Hook Peninsula. The pier at Ballinacourty is a long-standing local sea-angling spot, with flatfish, dogfish and bass among the catches. The mudflats and rocky shore draw waders and seabirds – oystercatchers, curlews, cormorants and gulls.
One caveat worth knowing before you go: there is very little here. Facilities at the point itself are minimal, the shoreline paths are uneven and slippery in places, and the rocky access is not suitable for wheelchairs. Toilets and somewhere to eat are at Clonea Strand or in Dungarvan town centre.
The wider area
Just north is Clonea Strand, a long sandy Blue Flag beach used for walking, swimming and watersports, and the more obvious choice if you have children or want a proper stretch of sand.
The Waterford Greenway, the 46km off-road walking and cycling route between Dungarvan and Waterford City, passes close by and can be joined nearby. Part of the old railway here once had a working purpose: a magnesite processing plant operated at Ballinacourty until it closed in the late 1980s, served by a freight spur off the Waterford–Mallow line until 1982. The spur is long gone, and stretches of that railway corridor now carry the Greenway.
Getting there
Free parking is available at Ballinacourty Cove, and there is more at the Gold Coast Resort or Clonea Strand. The nearest transport hub is Dungarvan, served by regular Bus Éireann routes to Waterford and Cork; there is no train, the passenger line having closed in 1967.
Dogs are welcome on the coastal paths and shoreline but should be kept on a lead to protect nesting birds.
Nearby
- Dungarvan town: a harbour town with Dungarvan Castle, the Waterford County Museum and a good run of restaurants.
- Helvick Head: across the bay on the Ring (An Rinn) peninsula, with cliffs, a working fishing harbour and a view back to Ballinacourty.
- Copper Coast drive: the coastal route east from Dungarvan towards Tramore, taking in Waterford’s cliffs and geology.
If you come in the evening, time it for dusk and watch the light come on across the water – the one part of the lighthouse you can actually experience for yourself.