Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Ireland
The Hook peninsula is a peninsula in Co. Wexford and has been a gateway to south-east Ireland for successive waves of immigrants including the Vikings, Anglo-Normans and the English.
Hook Head is a headland situated 30 miles south west of Wexford. It is located on the east side of the estuary of “The Three Sisters” rivers (the Nore, the Suir and the Barrow) and is part of the Hook peninsula adjacent to the historic townland of Loftus Hall.
Hook Head is said to have found its way into common English usage in the saying "By Hook or by Crook." It is claimed that the phrase is derived from a vow by Oliver Cromwell to take Waterford by Hook (on the Wexford side of Waterford Harbour) or by Crook (a village on the Waterford side of Waterford Harbour).
Hook Head Lighthouse is situated on Hook Head at the tip of the Hook peninsula and is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and the second oldest operating lighthouse in the world after the Tower of Hercules in Galicia in Spain. The existing tower dates from the 12th century although tradition states that Dubhán, a missionary to the Wexford area, established a form of beacon as early as the 5th century. The headland of Hook Head is known in Irish as Rinn Dubháin (St. Dubhán's Head). However, the similar sounding Irish word “duán” means a fish hook, hence the English name. In March 1996, the Hook Head Lighthouse was converted to automatic operation and the last light-keepers who had climbed the stairs and tended the light were permanently withdrawn from the station. The lighthouse is now remotely controlled from Dún Laoghaire by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. In 2001 the Hook Head Lighthouse was opened to the public as a tourist attraction after the old keepers houses were turned into a visitor centre. In January 2011, the Hook Head Lighthouse fog horn was heard for the last time as all the fog horns were turned off. It was felt that the technology on modern ships was so advanced that the fog horn was no longer required.
Date: 31st January 2020
Location: Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Ireland
Hook Head is a headland situated 30 miles south west of Wexford. It is located on the east side of the estuary of “The Three Sisters” rivers (the Nore, the Suir and the Barrow) and is part of the Hook peninsula adjacent to the historic townland of Loftus Hall.
Hook Head is said to have found its way into common English usage in the saying "By Hook or by Crook." It is claimed that the phrase is derived from a vow by Oliver Cromwell to take Waterford by Hook (on the Wexford side of Waterford Harbour) or by Crook (a village on the Waterford side of Waterford Harbour).
Hook Head Lighthouse is situated on Hook Head at the tip of the Hook peninsula and is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and the second oldest operating lighthouse in the world after the Tower of Hercules in Galicia in Spain. The existing tower dates from the 12th century although tradition states that Dubhán, a missionary to the Wexford area, established a form of beacon as early as the 5th century. The headland of Hook Head is known in Irish as Rinn Dubháin (St. Dubhán's Head). However, the similar sounding Irish word “duán” means a fish hook, hence the English name. In March 1996, the Hook Head Lighthouse was converted to automatic operation and the last light-keepers who had climbed the stairs and tended the light were permanently withdrawn from the station. The lighthouse is now remotely controlled from Dún Laoghaire by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. In 2001 the Hook Head Lighthouse was opened to the public as a tourist attraction after the old keepers houses were turned into a visitor centre. In January 2011, the Hook Head Lighthouse fog horn was heard for the last time as all the fog horns were turned off. It was felt that the technology on modern ships was so advanced that the fog horn was no longer required.
Date: 31st January 2020
Location: Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Ireland
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Also in: Ireland - January and February 2020
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