Princess Royal and Van Morrison give St John’s Lighthouse beam boost

Princess Royal and Van Morrison give St John’s Lighthouse beam boost

20 January 2016

THE campaign to retain the iconic sweeping beam of St John’s Point Lighthouse has received a timely boost from a senior member of the Royal family and Northern Ireland music royalty.

Princess Anne is hoping the campaign is successful, while Van Morrison — the man who helped make East Down famous on the world stage with his Coney Island composition which refers to the lighthouse — has also wished campaigners success.

Lecale Light-keepers, the campaign group set up to oppose plans by the Commissioner of Irish Lights (CIL) to replace the Fresnel lamp at the lighthouse with a modern LED light, asked Princess Anne to be the campaign patron.

While she declined the offer as she is already patron of over 500 organisations, a letter from Princess Anne’s PA said she fully supports the group and wishes its campaign well. 

The letter adds: “Her Royal Highness sends her best wishes for the future success of this very important cause.”

Just before Christmas, when four members of the campaign group were in a Dublin hotel ahead of a meeting with CIL representatives, music legend Morrison walked into the lounge with his personal assistant.

Group member, George H Smyth, a Tyrella-based artist, had a brief chat with the singer and explained why they were in Dublin. Using an iPad, he showed Morrison photographs of the lighthouse and copies of articles which have been written about the campaign, including a number which have appeared in the Down Recorder.

George exchanged email details with the singer’s PA and said Morrison was “shocked and surprised” to hear about the plan to remove the iconic sweeping beam. He added: “Van listened to me and was very surprised to hear about the plan and wished me luck in our meeting.” Campaigners say the lighthouse beam is part of the Lecale coastline’s maritime history and is something of cultural and historical significance. They argue that if the current seven tonne lamp is replaced with a static LED flashing light, the sweeping beam will become a thing of the past.

Mrs Eileen Peters, who was part of the delegation which met Commissioners last month, said they are delighted with the encouragement they have received from both Princess Anne and Van Morrison.

She also confirmed the campaign group is seeking Heritage Lottery funding and hopes to go into schools to educate teachers and pupils about the lighthouse and its important role.

“St John’s Point Lighthouse is one of the most iconic buildings we have on our coastline. It is unique and something very precious, not just appreciated by local people, but others around the world,” she continued.

Mrs Peters said campaigners made it very clear they do not want the lighthouse lamp altered in any way, arguing Commissioners had created something “priceless” in Killough which had to be retained.

“During our meeting we did establish some common ground and explained to the Commissioners that we would like to see St John’s become a heritage facility. CIL has suggested plans for a new centre, car park and toilets at the lighthouse, but what the access issue and the impact on area of special scientific interest?

“Why not retain the lighthouse, allow people to get up close to it and provide a new centre further away and bus people up to it. That would be more acceptable to us. We believe it’s also important to retain the ruggedness of the St John’s setting.”

Mrs Peters, who was also joined by Imelda Keeling and Hugh O’Donnell for the meeting in Dublin, said campaigners believe the real value is to leave the lighthouse as it is in a “beautiful, remote area which is part of its charm.”

She added: “We want the original mechanism which supports the lamp retained and are prepared to work with the Commissioners. But our bottom line is that the lighthouse is retained in its present form as we believe this could be a catalyst for tourism growth. People should see the lamp in its natural setting.

Imelda added: “Let the lighthouse remain as it is as one of the last of its kind in Ireland with a sweeping beam in its original form. Once the beam goes, it is gone. We want to guard against this. History is about our present and our past and it is so important to keep our heritage for present and future generations. St. John’s could easily be preserved as a fully functioning heritage building.”