Les grands phares d'Irlande

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - A Nation Surrounded

Irlands Leuchttürme - Wächter der See

A compelling and visually spectacular series telling the fascinating story of Ireland’s lighthouses, their history and their continuing importance in modern life.

program_content

Great Lighthouses of Ireland

<p>A compelling and visually spectacular series telling the fascinating story of Ireland’s lighthouses, their history and their continuing importance in modern life.</p>

program_playNext

In the second episode, we discover how Ireland became a world leader in lighthouse engineering. Often working in hostile and treacherous natural locations, Ireland’s lighthouse engineers and builders used great ingenuity to achieve what seemed impossible.
Tuskar Rock off the coast of Co. Wexford is a perilous reef thought to have caused more shipwrecks than any other marine hazard around the Irish coast. Designed by 19th century engineer George Halpin, who was considered the “Founding father” of the Irish lighthouse service, the lighthouse at Tuskar is still in operation 200 years after it was built.
In 1881 the towering waves of the Atlantic snapped the Calf Rock lighthouse tower off its cast iron base. Amazingly, none of the lighthouse keepers were killed but the disaster prompted engineers to build a lighthouse on the nearby Bull Rock instead.
With a summit 305 feet above sea level, and sheer, jagged sides, the Bull Rock is perhaps one of the most inaccessible places in Ireland.
Former Fastnet lighthouse keepers recount their experiences of living and working inside the tower, which despite being 160 ft high can be covered by terrifying waves. The tower is made from 2074 hand carved granite blocks, designed with millimetre precision to lock together and withstand some of the most violent seas the Atlantic can conjure.
The Kish lighthouse is a masterpiece of 20th century engineering: a telescopic design rising to over 100 feet, and built to sit on a sandbank.

In the second episode, we discover how Ireland became a world leader in lighthouse engineering. Often working in hostile and treacherous natural locations, Ireland’s lighthouse engineers and builders used great ingenuity to achieve what seemed impossible.

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - Feats of Engineering

In the third episode of this four part series we discover the surprising roles that lighthouse keepers played in both World Wars. As the First World War raged around Ireland’s coast, our lighthouse keepers acted as unofficial coastguards, keeping detailed logs of their observations. From sightings of German submarines, to the horror of ships being torpedoed and attacked by other vessels, and even saving shipwrecked sailors, our lighthouse keepers were on the spot witnesses.
In the Second World War an Irish lighthouse keeper played a decisive role in the outcome.  We travel to Blacksod Bay, Co. Mayo where in 1944  lighthouse keeper Ted Sweeney took a weather reading which was to determine the entire timing of the allied invasion on D Day. Ted Sweeney’s weather observations persuaded General Eisenhower to delay the Normandy landings by 24 hours which proved to be crucial to their success. Ted’s son Gerry, also a former lighthouse keeper, tells us the story, and Evelyn Cusack from Met Eireann shows us the original handwritten weather observations collected by Ted Sweeney.
RTÉ’s Sea Area Forecast is broadcast three times a day and offers potentially life saving information to mariners. Evelyn Cusack explains how lighthouses and buoys are central to the gathering of this information.
One of the most dangerous jobs on the sea was that of the lightship man. Anchored in position in exposed locations, there was no escape from tempestuous seas for the lightship crews.
In 1936 the Daunt Rock lightship was struck by a hurricane and broke free, prompting the Ballycotton lifeboat, the Mary Stanford, to launch a terrifying rescue operation, which involved being at sea for 49 hours. Against all odds and due to the sheer bravery of the Mary Stanford Crew, the Daunt lightship men were all rescued.
A dramatic moment in lighthouse history occurred with the introduction of the helicopter.  Eliminating the need for lighthouse keepers  to be winched precariously on and off rocks, and ensuring they could return home without getting stuck in bad weather, the helicopter revolutionised life for the keepers.

In the third episode of this four part series we discover the surprising roles that lighthouse keepers played in both World Wars.

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - Witnesses to History

In the last episode of the series, former lighthouse keeper Richard Foran makes a poignant return trip to the Skelligs lighthouse which was his final posting before the lighthouse was automated.
Having worked for Irish Lights for fifty-two years in total, Richard reflects on his time at the Skelligs.  Automation was truly the end of an era for lighthouse keepers – keepers were no longer required and centuries of tradition ended.
But automation did not mean the end for lighthouses completely. We visit Irish Lights HQ in Dun Laoghaire from where all the aids to navigation around the Irish coast are controlled. Many of Ireland’s historic lighthouses are now popular tourist attractions, while still providing the vital service for which they were designed. The Hook Lighthouse in Co Wexford attracts 250,000 visitors a year, and it’s possible to stay at Fanad Head and Galley Head, both working lighthouses.
Artist Roger O’Reilly creates stunning contemporary art work of Ireland’s lighthouses in his Kilkenny studio. Roger describes the childhood experiences at lighthouses in Drogheda that sparked his fascination and this acclaimed body of work.
From its inception, Irish Lights has been at the forefront of modern technology – from advances in lighthouse lighting systems, to sophisticated super-buoys that tweet information to mariners. Irish Lights also has its own ship, the Granuaile, designed to carry out maintenance work in the most dangerous parts of the sea.
The series ends by asking what the future holds for lighthouses in an age of electronic and GPS navigation: fortunately, the future is bright.

In the last episode of the series, former lighthouse keeper Richard Foran makes a poignant return trip to the Skelligs lighthouse which was his final posting before the lighthouse was automated.

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - A Bright Future

program_recommendations

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict

Ireland: Colonisation to Brexit

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict.

Stories of Conflict

Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was the most densely populated area on Earth. 33,000 people settled on 2.5 hectares of land that was disputed between Chinese and British - meaning neither country asserted its authority there. This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

Kowloon: The Lawless Super City

This vertical slum was a hotbed of crime, but also full of factories, cheap shops and a strong community.

Crazy Borders

Paradise islands synonymous with hell? Welcome to the Spratlys archipelago, at the heart of a regional power struggle with global implications. China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and Brunei all lay claim to these islands... but the question is far from settled. If major conflict does break out, this is where it could start. A clear case of Crazy Borders! 

The Spratly Islands: Flashpoint for WWIII?

Paradise islands synonymous with hell? Welcome to the Spratlys archipelago, at the heart of a regional power struggle

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be? For France, of course, the baby would be French. But not for Italy! The quarrel has been going on since 1860, when the divison of territory at the top of the mountain was unclearly defined... leaving each country to interpret the boundary more or less as they saw fit. This really is a case for Crazy Borders!

Mont Blanc: A High Altitude Dispute

If a woman gave birth at the top of Mont Blanc, what nationality would the child be?

How can you misplace 80km2 of territory? In Mexico, the island of Bermeja had been on maps for generations. But when it came to actually finding the island... it seemed as if it had disappeared into thin air. And with the loss of Bermeja, Mexico lost a huge windfall of oil revenue in the Gulf of Mexico. This is a case for Crazy Borders. 

The Lost Island of Bermeja

Did you know that the Middle Ages is only a few kilometers off the French coast? A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Sark: A Modern Day Feudal Island

A lord and his vassals live peacefully on the island of Sark where cars are not allowed.

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s? It was the war of the stop signs in Llívia, a Spanish town - but in France, in the Pyrenees. This bizarre quirk is due to a treaty signed centuries ago. This really is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Llivia, Between France and Spain

Did you know that the last war between France and Spain took place in the 1970s?

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory? In the Monastic Republic of Mount Athos women are not allowed in - even tourists - and any woman who enters could be arrested by police. It's a peninsula from another, bygone world and yet benefits from taxpayer funding (including female taxpayers, presumably...).

Mount Athos: Off Limits for Women

Can a state in the EU prohibit women from accessing its territory?

In the town of Baarle, a body of a woman was discovered in a house... but before police could intervene, first authorities had to call a surveyor. Baarle is crisscrossed over with a winding frontier between the Netherlands and Belgium, and police needed to know which country was responsible for investigating the killing. One half of the house was Dutch, the other half was Belgian. This is a case for Crazy Borders! 

Baarle, a Town of Two Nations

A city divided between Belgium and the Netherlands, and scene of a murder? Welcome to Baarle.

program_bonus

Bonuses and Extracts

program_external

Discover more

program_categoryMostViewed

Kitschy trash or misunderstood genius? Italo disco was the euro sound of the 1980s that many loved and many hated. This documentary looks at how big names of the genre like Sabrina Salerno and duo Righeira conquered the charts.

The Sparkling Sound of the 1980s

Kitschy trash or misunderstood genius? Italo disco was the euro sound of the 1980s that many loved and many hated

Italo Disco

Israeli choreographers Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar present their show Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart at Nuits de Fourvière.

Nuits de Fourvière

The Brutal Journey of the Heart by Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar

Young Korean musicians have been taking the world of classical music by storm. A new generation are winning the big prizes and pursuing successful careers in Europe and around the world. What makes these Korean classical artists so good? A documentary following the rising stars of K-Classic

The Korean Musical Mystery

Generation K-Classics

According to the latest calculations by the OECD, South Korean women could live to be over 92 years old on average in 2070, and men over 89. That would be a world record. What's the secret?

South Korea: An Obsession With Health

South Koreans are on track to be the longest-lived people in the world

ARTE Reportage

The prisoner of a promise made to Neptune, King Idomeneus is faced with a cruel dilemma... From the Théâtre de l’Archevêché, the most romantic of Mozart’s operas, directed by Satoshi Miyagi and conducted by Raphaël Pichon, with soprano Sabine Devieilhe, promises to be the operatic event of the 2022 Aix festival season.

Aix-en-Provence Festival 2022

The most romantic of Mozart’s operas, conducted by Raphaël Pichon, with soprano Sabine Devieilhe.

Mozart: Idomeneus, King of Crete

Planting trees against climate change: Ireland is reforesting its territory by growing spruces. But it's not just about being green, it's about profit. Wood is a big business... much to the displeasure of local environmental activists who want Ireland's forestry policy changed. 

Growing trees to be harvested for wood is big business - but what are the environmental ramifications? 

Re: Money Grows on Trees

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland. Once German East Prussia, it is now home to 1 million Russian citizens. What is life like in this small territory now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began?

Kaliningrad: Putin's Enclave

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland and is now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began.

After fifteen years with the White Stripes and The Raconteurs, Jack White started his solo career in 2012. 2022 marks a milestone for the Detroit-born artist with the release of two new albums: Fear of Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive. White is live in Paris at the legendary venue, the Olympia.

The White Stripes star is live in Paris to perform Fear of Dawn and Entering Heaven Alive.

Jack White at the Paris Olympia

In Europe, the last primary forests are found almost exclusively in the mountains in the east or south-east of the continent. These virgin forests have never been exploited or cut down, and have remained as they have always been. Few studies have been done on this forests, which are presumably havens of biodiversity. We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania.

The Green Lungs of Europe

We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania

Geo Reportage

The most popular of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and staged by Romeo Castellucci. A very special production, which promises to stir up the audience at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

A message from director Romeo Castellucci:
The action you are about to witness has the particular misfortune of containing images that, charged with violence, seem to be the cruel likeness of our near reality.
I imagined this work over a year ago.
No one could have foreseen this painful overlapping of art and reality, which today seems like an atrocious prophecy.
How to support today the unconscious exactness of these images on the stage?
But what to do in the face of the irretrievable that theatre represents?
It is essential to accept the pain produced by this concordance, in the light that Gustav Mahler’s Resurrection can represent.
Romeo Castellucci
July 2022
Recorded 13 July in Aix-en-Provence with the Orchestre de Paris and the Choir of the Orchestre de Paris.

The most popular of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and staged by Romeo Castellucci. A very special production, which promises to stir up the audience at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

Resurrection - Gustav Mahler

The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland. It was where the two men accused of orchestrating the Lockerbie bombings were put on trial. Libyans saw them as unfair victims. Meanwhile bereaved families demanded justice.

A Scottish Court in the Netherlands

The former military base Camp Zeist in the Netherlands was once lent to Scotland for the Lockerbie bombing trial

The Staatsoper Hamburg’s new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s opera buffa "Don Pasquale" is directed by David Bösch.The plot of this turbulent comedy turns on the title character and his nemesis sung by Italian baritone Ambrogio Maestri and Australian soprano Danielle de Niese respectively.The Philharmonische Staatsorchester Hamburg will be conducted by Matteo Beltrami.

Great Lighthouses of Ireland

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - A Nation Surrounded

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - Feats of Engineering

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - Witnesses to History

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - A Bright Future

Great Lighthouses of Ireland - A Nation Surrounded

You may also like

Stories of Conflict

Stories of Conflict

Ireland: Colonisation to Brexit

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

Kowloon: The Lawless Super City

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

The Spratly Islands: Flashpoint for WWIII?

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

Mont Blanc: A High Altitude Dispute

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

The Lost Island of Bermeja

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

Sark: A Modern Day Feudal Island

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

Llivia, Between France and Spain

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

Mount Athos: Off Limits for Women

The most viewed videos on ARTE

Italo Disco

Italo Disco

The Sparkling Sound of the 1980s

The Brutal Journey of the Heart by Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar

The Brutal Journey of the Heart by Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar

Nuits de Fourvière

Generation K-Classics

Generation K-Classics

The Korean Musical Mystery

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

Kowloon: The Lawless Super City

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

The Spratly Islands: Flashpoint for WWIII?

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

Mont Blanc: A High Altitude Dispute

ARTE Reportage

ARTE Reportage

South Korea: An Obsession With Health

Crazy Borders

Crazy Borders

The Lost Island of Bermeja