Kish Bank
The Kish Bank (Irish: Banc na Cise) is a shallow sand bank approximately 11 kilometres (7 mi) off the coast of Dublin, in Ireland. It is marked by the Kish Lighthouse, a landmark visible to sailors and ferry passengers passing through Dublin Bay and Dún Laoghaire harbour.
Kish Bank Lighthouse in 2011 | |
| Location | Kish Bank, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°18′39″N 5°55′33″W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | July 1963 |
| Construction | reinforced concrete |
| Automated | 7 April 1992 |
| Height | 31 m (102 ft) |
| Shape | telescopic cylindrical tower with four balconies, lantern and helipad |
| Markings | white (tower), red (stripe) |
| Operator | Commissioners of Irish Lights |
| Racon | T |
| Light | |
| First lit | 9 November 1965 |
| Focal height | 29 m (95 ft) |
| Lens | catoptric lens |
| Intensity | 2,000,000 candela |
| Range | 22 nmi (41 km; 25 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl(2) W 20s |
| Ireland no. | CIL-0850 |
Many ships were wrecked on these shallows. The Vesper was lost in January 1876; the Norwegian MV Bolivar ran aground on the Kish Bank during a snow storm on 4 March 1947; both wrecks are frequently dived. A mailboat operated by the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company between Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) and Holyhead, RMS Leinster, was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine on 10 October 1918. She went down four miles (6.4 km) east of the Kish light with over 500 lives lost, the greatest single loss of life in the Irish Sea. Fifty-five wrecks are listed for the Kish Bank area.