Overview
Eeragh is the white tower with two black bands at the northern tip of the Aran chain, on Rock Island – the northernmost of the Brannock Islands, off the western end of Inis Mór. It is an active Commissioners of Irish Lights beacon: 31 metres of local crystalline limestone showing a white flash every 15 seconds, visible for 18 nautical miles and run now by remote telemetry. The interior is closed, the rock uninhabited, and there is no landing stage.
That does not mean you need a boat to see it. If you only have an afternoon on Inis Mór, the easiest view is from land – a viewpoint at the far western point of the island, out along the quiet back road, looks straight across to the tower on the horizon. It costs nothing, and it beats waiting on the weather for a charter.
History and engineering
The need for Eeragh came from a badly placed predecessor. When the first Aran light was built on Inishmore in 1818, it sat too high and too far inland to warn ships off the dangerous passages at either end of the island chain. The Revenue Commissioners asked repeatedly for it to be moved and were ignored, until the Galway Harbour Commissioners petitioned the Board of Trade in 1850. The answer was two lights, one at each end of the archipelago: Eeragh to the north and Inisheer to the south.
George Halpin Junior drew up the designs, and the Dublin firm Daniel Crowe & Sons began building in 1853 using the hard local limestone. Both towers were lit for the first time on 1 December 1857, the same day the old Inishmore light was put out. Eeragh took on the flashing optic from the decommissioned tower, supplied by Wilkins of London. In 1932 its original red bands were painted black – the scheme you see now.
The upgrades came steadily: a paraffin-vapour burner in 1904, a change of flash pattern in 1958, then automation in June 1978, when the heavy revolving lens gave way to a battery-powered AGA array. Power came first from a thermomechanical generator, then a wind turbine in 1983, and finally solar panels in November 2006 – the switch that trimmed the range to today’s 18 nautical miles. The keepers are long gone; an attendant now looks after the site with the help of remote monitoring. Relief crews once came by boat, and even on so short a crossing rough seas often stranded them, which is why the reliefs later moved to helicopter – first out of Clifden, now from Rossaveal.
Seeing the lighthouse
From Inis Mór, the easy way
The far western point of Inis Mór is the one place you can see Eeragh without hiring a boat. It is reached on the back road that loops round the quiet side of the island; from Kilronan the hop-on minibuses will run you most of the way, though you will want to tell the driver where you are headed rather than assume a stop. Be warned: the track out to the point is rough and not much maintained, the ground is bare limestone, and there is nothing there but the view. Bring what you need and mind your footing. On a big day the reward is Eeragh on the horizon with the Atlantic breaking white on the rocks below.
From the water
Rock Island itself has no landing, so the closest views come from a boat. Some Aran operators and mainland charters will route past the northern approaches, and from the deck the tower stands clear against the horizon. Any such trip depends entirely on sea state, so treat it as weather-permitting.
Wildlife and the tower
The nutrient-rich water of the North Sound draws gulls, razorbills and guillemots, and in summer dolphins and porpoises work the deeper channels. Up close, the tower shows its flared limestone base and glass-sided lantern room, with the semi-detached keepers’ cottages – slate roofs, rendered chimneystacks – tucked to the south. Tower and cottages alike are listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage and protected under the county development plan.
Practical information
Getting there: The Aran ferries run from Rossaveal, west of Galway city, to Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inisheer; Inis Mór’s harbour is at Kilronan, where you pick up the island minibuses for the western point. There is no charge for the viewpoint. For a close pass of Eeragh itself you will need a private charter or a tour that specifically covers the northern approaches.
Facilities: None at Rock Island and none at the viewpoint – no parking, toilets, water or shelter. Stock up in Kilronan or Rossaveal before you set out.
Conditions: Weather in Galway Bay turns quickly. Winter brings heavy swell and poor visibility; late spring to early autumn gives the steadiest windows for both the crossing and the view.
Nearby
- Inisheer Lighthouse – Eeragh’s sister beacon at the southern end of the Arans, with a fixed white light and a red sector warning over Finnis Rock.
- Dún Aonghasa – The prehistoric stone fort on the cliff edge of Inishmore, with a sheer drop and long coastal views.
- Aran Islands – The wider archipelago, with coastal walking, trad sessions and early monastic sites.
- Rossaveal Harbour – The mainland gateway, a working fishing port with the island ferries.
For the least fuss, skip the boat: take the minibus to the western tip of Inis Mór on a clear, breezy day and let the tower come to you.