Mayo – Oileán sa Tuaidh, Eagle Islandby Pamela de Brí

In the 1830s two lighthouses and seven dwelling houses were built on Eagle island. During construction, part of the towers and a lot of the construction materials were swept into the sea by giant waves. During a severe storm in 1836 a rock was thrown up the cliffs and smashed a glass in the window 27m up in the tower building. So much water flowed down the tower in the incident that the lighthouse keepers could not open the door at the base and had to drill holes to let the water out. The lighthouse was manned until 1988 when the keepers and their families were moved to the mainland.