Tuskar Rock Shore Station

The original Tuskar Rock Shore Station was located near St Helen’s Pier, close to Rosslare. These cottages were for the keepers and their families of Tuskar Rock Lighthouse. Later, new cottages were built in Rosslare.

Tuskar Rock Lighthouse was built in 1815. In 1817, a row of four cottages was built near St Helen’s Pier, close to Rosslare, and within sight of the offshore lighthouse.

At the time of construction, the relief boats came into and out of St Helen’s Pier rather than Rosslare, which was less developed than today.

In 1834, the houses were sold. The families were relocated to Tuskar Rock, though preference was given to childless or unmarried keepers, due to space.

The lighthouse family accommodation on the rock was extended in the 1850s, and again in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1886, a new row of cottages was built in Rosslare overlooking the harbour, and the families moved into these cottages in 1890.

Following the automation of Tuskar Rock Lighthouse in 1973, the shore station cottages were sold to the Railway Hotels Company.

The original cottages can be found at Killilane, along the road for St Helen’s Golf Club.

The shore station in Rosslare is easy to find along an uphill track at Cliff Road from the main road overlooking the pier. Rosslare Harbour View Point Car Park is just across the road overlooking the harbour.

The coastguard cottages are located alongside the former shore station.  

One of the best ways to view Tuskar Rock Lighthouse is from the Rosslare ferry.