Built for £2,440 in 1864 (about €435,000), Blacksod Lighthouse is at the centre of a burgeoning tourism industry in the Erris Peninsula in Co Mayo.
Lighthouse tourism is becoming a big revenue generator in remote parts of the country, with more than 350,000 visits and €33 million in direct revenue per year.
“It is massive for the local area,” says Fergus Sweeney, who looks after tourism at Blacksod Lighthouse. . “It’s creating jobs that just did not exist in the area before 2021.”
In addition to the 25 jobs directly created by the lighthouse, the tourists it is drawing to the area is helping the local hotels and businesses.
“We feed off them and they feed off us,“ he said. ”It’s a slow burner, but I think we’re in the very early stages of it.”
Supported by the Great Lighthouses of Ireland initiative and Comharchumann Forba
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