Waterford coast bonfires to mark 200 years of signal towers

A series of bonfires will light up the Waterford coast tomorrow evening to warn of a possible attack from the French in a ceremony to mark the 200th anniversary of an invasion that never happened.

The fires will be lit at signal tower sites in the coastal areas of Bonmahon, Ardmore, Ballymona, Ballyvoile Head and the Island of Kane.

The ceremonial fires are to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the construction of 80 signal towers, built around the Irish coastline between 1804 and 1806, as a warning mechanism against a possible French invasion during the Napoleonic Wars.

The British, fearing an invasion similar to that of 1796, decided to build signal stations and flagstaffs in west Cork as the French had entered Ireland through Bantry Bay during this invasion.

Towers lined the shore from Malin, down the western shoreline to Kerry, along the south coast and north to Dublin, Antrim and the Derry shorelines.

A system of semaphore signalling was established so that each tower could be visible from another. The semaphores, fitted to the top of the towers, mimicked a person's outstretched arms, flag held in each hand.

A signal at Blackball Head in Co Cork, for example, could have been seen in Sheep's Head to the south and be passed on to Dublin relatively quickly. However, it is understood that Ireland's harsh climate often rendered the system useless.

Other fortifications, known as signal stations, did not have towers and sent their signal by flag waving.

The towers were abandoned following Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo but were used as look- out posts again during the first and second World Wars. Many are no longer in existence.

Bonfires will be set alight in Bonmahon, Ardmore and Brownstown Head tomorrow evening at 7pm, while on August 20th at 3pm, fires will be lit at all signal tower sites around the country.

Organiser of the ceremonial fires at Tranamoe in Bonmahon, Co Waterford, Margaret Cosgrave, said the towers are an important part of our cultural heritage. "The anniversary, particularly the event on August 20th, helps to tie all the coastal community together," she added.

For more information see www.signaltowersireland.com