THE DOORS of Loop Head lighthouse overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in west Clare were opened to the public yesterday for the first time – 341 years after the first lighthouse was built on the site.
Brendan Garvey, who was the last lightkeeper at the facility – which became fully automated in 1991 – welcomed the opening of the lighthouse as a tourist attraction. The Carrigaholt man said: “I lived there with my wife, Kitty, in the 1960s. We had two children while I was stationed there and it was a great place for a young family. It is a beautiful part of the world.”
Ger Dollard of Clare County Council said the opening was a first step in realising the tremendous tourism potential of the west Clare peninsula.
The lighthouse was first established in 1670 and is open on a trial basis for July and August.
