Daymark

Dwellings were whitewashed as a daymark (52m above water) from 1914

Engine Room

The room on the left houses the Engines or Generators which kept power going on the station and were used in emergencies if  there was a power cut.  There is one generator left.  The beds for the other two are under the seating.  They were powered by diesel oil.

Audiovisual:  The Land is the Danger

This film was made by Norris Davidson for RTE in the 1970s.  It is an historically important film showing all the procedures and tasks carried out by lighthouse keepers in the heyday of the Irish Lights Service.  Now all the lighthouses are automated.  Their original Fresnel lens lights have been changed to LED.  Many of the essential tasks are no longer needed with GPS and satellites giving up to the minute information. Most of the old equipment was dumped in the sea when it became obsolete.

Paraffin Barrel

This silver painted metal barrel came from Rock Island Lighthouse Houses and has the CIL name on it.

Electrical Switches/ Regulating Transformer

The primary mains electrical distribution equipment has been superseded by modern trip switches.  The regulating transformer kept electricity at the right voltage.  It is only in the last few years that there is a steady voltage. Before, when there was a high demand for power further up the peninsula, the power at Mizen could be very weak.

International Signal Flags

The flags on the wall are B and W.

Letter and number ICS flags

International Code of Signals - Wikipedia

The international signal flags were used to communicate with passing ships without any language barriers before the advent of radio. A manual provided to meanings of the flags and a whole conversation could take place.  There were flags for all the letters of the alphabet and numbers up to 10. Each flag has a special meaning.  The flags on the walls: on the left means: I need medical assistance and on the right means: I am carrying a dangerous cargo.

Commissioners of Irish Lights Burgee

https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ie~comil.html

In 1863 the Port of Dublin Corporation, which was not only the General Lighthouse Authority in Ireland, but also the Corporation for preserving and improving the Port of Dublin, was granted permission to use the Blue Ensign defaced with a badge in the fly. This consisted of a lighthouse on a circular blue background surrounded by a scroll bearing the words "Irish Lights Department". The General Lighthouse Authority became a separate body in accordance with the Dublin Port Act of 1867, and was designated the Commissioners of Irish Lights. At the same time, the design of the badge on the Blue Ensign was changed as shown to that shown above.

The flag of the Commissioners is white, three by two, charged with the red cross of St. George; each quarter comprises a seascape - first and fourth showing a lighthouse on a rock, second and third a lightship, all proper. There seems to be no record of the date of the adoption of this flag. Similar charges, only placed within a circle, are displayed on the blue triangular field bearing the St. George's Cross, of the "Pennant". This is flown at the main masthead, but is replaced with the Commissioners' flag whenever they are embarked. The Commissioners' flag is also flown at all lighthouse stations in the Republic of Ireland; however, those in Northern Ireland fly the Blue Ensign defaced, as described above."
Source: Carr (1961)
Jarig Bakker, 28 August 2001

Old canvas stretcher