placenamesCrookhaven
An Cruachán
Crookhaven’s sheltered harbour has supported fishing, maritime communications and the shore life of lighthouse keepers.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Cruachán · Irish · main form · validated name
- Crookhaven · English · main form
Place & story
Lighting the entrance
Crookhaven Lighthouse stands on Rock Island Point, on the northern side of the harbour entrance. Local boatmen and fishermen requested a light. George Halpin rejected the proposed Alderman Rock site because of its unstable stone and selected the present position. The light first shone on 4 August 1843. [2]
The keepers ashore
The Rock Island buildings also housed families of keepers serving Fastnet. Crookhaven’s light came under the Fastnet principal keeper, before a local attendant was appointed in 1953. Irish Lights records conversion of the station to electricity in 1978. The harbour’s lighthouse history therefore includes a domestic shore base as well as the tower itself. [2]
Work across the harbour
Crookhaven Village Association recalls a shellfish factory on Rock Island during the 1960s and 1970s, processing lobster, shrimp and crab for Britain and continental Europe. It also records the local connection with Marconi’s wireless teams and assistant Arthur Nottage, whose name survives in a village pub. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Cork
- Barony
- Carbery West (W.D.)
- Civil parish
- Kilmoe
- Within
- Crookhaven
- Coordinates
- 51.46511, -9.72701 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1412757 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Crookhaven. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Crookhaven Lighthouse · Commissioners of Irish Lights
- About our Village: A History of Crookhaven · Crookhaven Village Association CLG
- St Brendan the Navigator Church, Crookhaven illustration: based on a St Brendan the Navigator, Crookhaven by Richard Webb. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.