Lismore Lighthouse is situated on the ten acre island of Eilean Musdile, in the Firth of Lorne, at the entrance to Loch Linnhe. The island is separated from Lismore Island by a Sound ¼ miles broad.
History
1830: On 13 January, the Commissioners purchased, from Charles Campbell Esq of Combie, the small island of Mansedale, lying off the south west point of Lismore, for the sum of £500. Robert Stevenson was the principal engineer and James Smith of Inverness was the contractor responsible for building the lighthouse at the price of £4,260.
1833: The light was first exhibited in October of this year and was fixed white. The report at the time stated the light would be of great service to the numerous vessels which frequented the sounds of Islay, Luing and Mull. It also opened up the firth of Lorne and Loch Linnhe for the western entrance to the Caledonian Canal.
Mr Robert Selkirk, a lineal descendant of Alexander Selkirk, was the first Principal Lightkeeper at Lismore. He had been in the service since 1808. As Lismore was a Rock Station, it was relieved fortnightly, so the four Keepers had six weeks of work on the rock, followed by two weeks ashore with their families. Provisions and other light stores were brought by a boatman permanently attached to the station.
1910: By this time, most of the NLB lights had been changed to dioptric but Lismore and Fidra were left as the only remaining purely catoptric lights in the service.
1940: The war years provided extra work for the Lightkeepers. In 1940 two Keepers at Lismore rescued, under very difficult conditions, two airmen who were clinging to a piece of wreckage in the sea.
1965: In June, the lighthouse was converted to automatic operation at an estimated cost of £10,000. More than 11 tonnes of building material was transported from Oban by MV FINGAL. The lightkeepers were then withdrawn.