tall, and rose above sea-level at high water. This proved to be too tall, as the light was often hidden by fog and low-lying clouds. Trinity House recommended a new lighthouse lower down right at the point of the Old Head. Construction started on 20 March 1850 and was completed three years later and first shone on 1 October 1853. Between 1855 and 1907 a red sector covered Courtmacsherry Bay. In 1893 a fog signal was established which was maintained until 2011. A new lantern was installed in 1907 with the current character of "Gp Fl(2) W 10s" (a group of 2 white flashes repeated every 10 seconds). In 1972 the paraffin lamp was replaced by electricity and the range increased to . Between 1974 and 1992 a radio beacon was transmitted. In 1987 the lighthouse was converted to automatic operation. In 2005 the range was reduced to . In January 2009 an AIS station was established. Lusitania On 7 May 1915, the passenger liner was travelling from New York to Liverpool, when she was torpedoed by a German U-Boat, around from the Old Head of Kinsale. The liner sank in 18 minutes, killing 1,198 of the 1,959 passengers and crew. The bodies were subsequently transported to Queenstown. In 2015, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking, a museum opened at the signal tower of the Old Head lighthouse. The owner of the wreck of the Lusitania lent various artefacts to house in the museum, which were recovered by Eoin McGarry four years earlier during an authorised dive. Golf Today, the Old Head of Kinsale is visited by golfers who come to play on its 18-hole golf course that opened in 1997. The course offers views of the ocean from every hole. Since the golf course opened, access to the Old Head of Kinsale has been restricted to golfers and guests only, and there has been a long-running campaign for the restoration of public access organised by the "Free the Old Head of Kinsale" campaign. This has mainly taken the format of "people's picnics", some of them involving "incursions" onto the headland and holding the picnics at the Old Head lighthouse. See also Lighthouses in Ireland References External links Courtmacsherry Bay Area Local tourist authority website. Lighthouse history Old Head Golf Links Free the Old Head of Kinsale Campaign Headlands of County Cork Lighthouses in the Republic of Ireland