Opening hours extended as 6,500 visitors flock to Loop Head Lighthouse

CONNOLLY, Ireland - July 24, 2013 - PRLog -- The popular tourist attraction will remain open from 10am until 7.30pm each day until August 25th.

The 19th century lighthouse was opened for a third successive season in mid-March but has been open to the public on a 7-days-a-week basis since May 23rd.

Clare County Council, which manages the facility in conjunction with the Commissioner of Irish Lights (CIL), today confirmed that more than 6,500 people have passed through the doors of the lighthouse since the beginning of June. Almost 25% of those who have visited the Lighthouse have been from overseas.

According to Siobhán Garvey, Marketing & Development Officer, Kilrush Town Council: “There is no doubting the public appeal of the Lighthouse which continues to draw people from all over Clare, Ireland and abroad. The project has proved to be an important addition to the overall tourism product on offer not only in the Loop Head Peninsula but also in the wider county. The introduction of an exhibition to the lighthouse has also helped to raise the profile of the lighthouse and its longstanding connections with Clare’s rich maritime history.”

The Lighthouse made national headlines last year when Taoiseach Enda Kenny, whose own grandfather was a Lightkeeper at Loop Head during the 1930s, and his family visited the historic maritime building. Dr. Aleida Guevara March, the eldest daughter of revolutionary figure Ernesto "Che" Guevara, also visited in late September, while the Lighthouse was one of 400 lighthouses and lightships in 50 countries to participate in the 15th International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend.