The Bonavista Peninsula meets Trinity Bay on the east and Bonavista Peninsula on the west. In many ways, the peninsula is the heartland of the island. History and tradition maintains the Viennese explorer John Cabot was the first European to set foot here, on June 24, 1497. Bonavista is a shortened version of “O Bueno Vista,” or “Oh Happy Site,” the words spoken by Cabot when he first saw land. First settled in the late sixteenth century, Bonavista was the most northern English settlement until the early eighteenth century and served as a centre for the northern fishery. By the 1840s, Bonavista had a population of 2,000, and the Commissioners of Lighthouses realized a lighthouse was needed near Cape Bonavista to guide vessels passing between Bonavista and Trinity Bays. The area along the coast is picturesque with small fishing villages and hilly terrain.

credit: Zippo S

The Baily Lighthouse is a fine lighthouse on the northernmost point of Dublin Bay. The first lighthouse on this site dates from 1667. It was a cottage and square tower with a coal-fired beacon. The lighthouse we see today was built in 1814 and was equipped with fixed white catoptric light comprising 24 Argand oil lamps and reflectors. The granite tower is 13 m high and rises 41 m (134 feet) above sea level. Some of the best views in the whole Dublin area await from the parking lot above the lighthouse, looking out over the entire bay as far south as Dun Laoghaire, Bray, and the north Wicklow coast.

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