About this stretch of coast
St John's Point Lighthouse was first lit in 1844 to a design by George Halpin Senior, one of the leading civil engineers of his day. The original tower stood just 14 metres, and was raised to its present 40 metres in the 1880s, making it the tallest onshore lighthouse on the Irish coast. It became fully automatic in 1981.
Its famous black-and-yellow banding is more recent than the tower. Painted white at first, it gained black bands in 1902, and the look you see today, a black tower with two yellow bands, dates from 1954. The pattern works as a daymark, helping sailors identify it by day.
Near the point sit the remains of St John's Point Church and an old holy well, with roots reaching back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The route forms part of the 75km Lecale Way, ending at Tyrella Beach, a long sandy strand on the shore of Dundrum Bay beneath the Mourne Mountains.