Old Head of Kinsale

Old Head of Kinsale

Lighthouse on the Old Head near Kinsale, County Cork
Old Head of Kinsale Ireland
Location	County Cork, Ireland
Coordinates
Year first constructed	1853
Construction	masonry
Tower shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern
Markings / pattern	white and black horizontal bands
Height	30 metres (98 ft)
Focal height	72 metres (236 ft)
Range	20 nautical miles
Characteristic	Fl (2) W 10 s.
Fog signal	3 blasts every 45 s
Admiralty number	A5710
NGA number	6340
ARLHS number	IRE-055
Ireland number	CIL-0200

The Old Head of Kinsale (in Irish, An Seancheann) is a headland near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. An early lighthouse was established here in the 17th century by Robert Reading. The area was the nearest land point (11 miles/18 km) from where the RMS Lusitania was sunk in 1915.

Today the Old Head of Kinsale is popular with golfers who come to play on its 18 Hole golf course that opened in 1997.

Geographical Information

Old Head of Kinsale lighthouse

The old head of Kinsale was formed by differential erosion. An outcrop of hard sandstone is lodged between two layers of shale. The shale is eroded by marine action at a faster rate than the sandstone. The sandstone anticlines were much more resistant to erosion than the slate filled synclines. Thus over time the headland was formed.

Protests

Since the golf course opened, access to the Old Head of Kinsale has been restricted to golfers and guests only, and there has been a long-running campaign for the restoration of public access organised by the Free the Old Head of Kinsale Campaign. This campaign has mainly taken the format of "People's Picnics", some of them involving "incursions" onto the headland and holding the picnics at the Old Head lighthouse.

See also

• Lighthouses in Ireland

External links

• Commissioners of Irish Lights Lighthouse history
• Free the Old Head of Kinsale Campaign
• Mapquest location map
• Old Head Golflinks
• Keep Ireland Open