"From Inception..." The Evolving Beacon on Hook Peninsula

Ireland is the world's 20th largest island, measuring 488 kilometers (303 miles) long and 225 kilometers (140 miles) at its widest; if you could unravel its coastline it would stretch more than 3,219 kilometers (2,000 miles). We are fortunate to have some of the most beautiful coastal regions to be seen anywhere in the world. However, what is so attractive to native and visitor alike can be a major hazard to the seafarer. The east and southeast coasts, although featureless, are probably the most treacherous of Ireland's coastline: some sandbanks between Dublin Bay and Rosslare Harbor extend up to nine miles, and the south Wexford coast is particularly hazardous with a great spine of shallow reefs and scattered islands and rocks that extend for a distance of up to seven miles to the seaward. However, with today's technology and modern markings, these noted dangers do not pose the threat they did hundreds of years ago.