poolbeg

August 5th 2004 1am [my first post here]

flashing all over dublin tonight there is a strobing white light on the southern tower at poolbeg, this light was visible before dusk at 9pm in clontarf at 1am it is lighting up the dublin night sky out in baldoyle 10 miles
from city centre.

questions I emailed to esb networks
8<
what is the light for?
what power is the light?
what efforts are being made to reduce light pollution from this light?
does this light have planning permission?
are there plans to light the second tower?
8<

its pulsing (every 1.5 sec) 40 flashes a minute and very powerful & annoying

regards Brian Greene

OUCH! Not a nice thing at all to live near.

Such a pointless waste of money and energy.

*fumes*

Thanks Brian,

I had seen the light but couldnt pinpoint where it was coming from. I've just sent the following to the ESB.

As far as I know there is no requirement for them to have planning permission, and if they applied we still could not object on the grounds of light pollution. Though I plan to write to every county and town council asking them to address light pollution issues once the plan in Co. Clare becomes official.

Cheers,
~Al

Dear Sir/Madam,

I notice that there is a very bright light pulsing across the Dublin skyline tonight and it appears to be located on one of the towers at your power plant in Ringsend.

Can you please tell me the purpose of this light and the duration you expect it to be in place for?

The Irish Light Pollution Awareness Campaign (ILPAC) has recieved several complaints from our members this evening complaining about the light being visible from Baldoyle and Killiney. And I can confirm that especially with the relativly low cloud cover tonight it is clearly visible at least 10km from the tower even with the light polluted skies of Dublin.

Our group promotes the use of energy efficient lighting and lighting fixtures where the light is directed directly downwards and not into the sky. In Northern Ireland light pollution groups have recieved sponsorship from Northern Ireland Electricity, so I am sure that you are in agreement with our aims of reducing wasted energy on light. This makes it all the more important that you do not set bad example for lighting practice in the country.

You will recall during the EU expansion celebrations that there was a light display in the City Center. The artist later stated that the show was not appropriate for a city as small as Dublin, so what appears a much brighter light on the tower in Ringsend is clearly also not appropriate for the city.

ILPAC would ask the ESB to address the issue of this bright light, and to remove it as soon as possible. If such a bright light is clearly visible over 10km away it will certainly be posing danger to traffic in the Ringsend and Sandymount area, as well as leading to health problems caused by sleep deprivation by residents in the area.

Regards,
Albert White
--
Deputy Chairperson,
Irish Light Pollution Awareness Campaign,
International Dark Sky Association (Ireland).

I live on the seafront with Poolbeg about 500 meters across the bay from me, so it's a permanent part of the view from my window. I noticed the lights came on during the recent fog we had, so I presume they are part of the safety features for bad visibility. They could have turned them off once the fog cleared the next day though...

Have Fun,
Jim.

I noticed the lights came on during the recent fog we had, so I presume they are part of the safety features for bad visibility. They could have turned them off once the fog cleared the next day though...

Doesnt explain why its currently on. 12 noon, nice clear(ish) blue skies, but its still clearly visible if you look at the top of the tower from the southside.

Waiting on a reply from the Station Manager in Poolbeg.

Cheers,
~Al

from reading an ESB standard reply posted to a member of boards.ie
the light is here to stay, and they will add the same to tower two.

they claim that the old red lights are obsolete after 30 years, this is
unbelievable.

the lighs are for aviation they say,

more later
regards Brian