Lighthouse tours to be extended

CLARE County Council has confirmed plans to extend the visitor access to the Loop Head Lighthouse until October following a massive response to its recent opening to the public.

The lighthouse, which was opened in July for the first time in 341 years, has seen more than 12,000 visitors coming to the site at Clare’s most westerly point.

The first lighthouse on Loop Head was one of four known Irish stone-vaulted cottage-type lights, built about 1670. The beacon fell into disuse towards the end of the 17th century but was re-established in 1720.