Today, in the name of progress and after 187 years of service, the light in Kilcredaun Lighthouse, on the mouth of the Shannon between Carrigaholt and Kilrush in Co Clare, will be switched off for good.
Just one of those things I suppose.
They could put some lower powered lights in there just to maintain the ambiance. That has been done for numerous lighthouses in the Chesapeake Bay. Some have been taken over by cities and counties who keep the lower lights going. LEDs 'ill last forever.
If you had been working for 187 years you would want to be retired too.
When I was a snapper my family went on holiday to the seaside and my room was in the track of the lighthouse beam. I can’t remember where it was. It took me hours to get to sleep. I wished they would turn the bloody thing off. Bit late, but I appreciate it. It probably wasn’t the same lighthouse, though.
I’m sure mariners appreciate just as much or even moreso the more modern and effective methods that help them steer.
My Moms best friend from home is still teaching at 99 years, when humans stop moving they’re dead. I say rent the thing out to Keeper wannabes who pay to come and be a “Keeper” for a week or two. They do it in Maine and other places here in the States.
A few years ago they shut down all the LORAN navigation beacons. Then they shut down all the ship-to-shore telegraph/telex stations. I swear, in a few years no one is going to know how to put one foot in front of the other without a computer to tell them how.
If we’re going to get all sentimental about pre-computer age technology, please let me share this story. For Christmas, we got our Secretary a webcam. A webcam sounds pretty lame but her son was getting ready to deploy to Afganistan. I knew her family was on Skype. When she opened the present she got all teary eyed. And she’s not the type of woman to get teary eyed. Never has a piece of technology brought so much love to a family.