Rescued from the scrap heap

This little beacon stood at this location for 133 years between 1876 and 2009 after which it was condemned to the scrap yard. The Buncrana Historical Society, however, convinced the Buncrana Town Council to save it and so the beacon was bought back from the Irish Lights for the princely sum of €5. It was carefully sandblasted, primed, and strengthened and now stands proudly on a new plinth as the town’s latest tourist attraction for future generations to enjoy. It was originally powered by a paraffin lamp and subsequently by a carbide-to-water generator before it was electrified in the 1950s.