Poolbeg Lighthouse - Misty Fire Sunrise

This Poolbeg Lighthouse print captured a blazing, atmospheric sunrise over Dublin Bay, photographed on April 9th 2025 from the top of the Irishtown Nature Reserve. From this elevated and distant viewpoint, roughly 3 km from the lighthouse, the scene opens into a dramatic landscape that is only briefly available each year when the rising sun aligns behind the lighthouse from this location.

The sky ignited with deep oranges and intense reds, layered across the cloud formations like streaks of fire. As the sun climbed off the horizon, its glowing shape framed the silhouette of Poolbeg Lighthouse while a ship moved quietly through the mist towards the light.

After more than a decade photographing sunrises and moonrises at Poolbeg, this is a viewpoint that only aligns for a short period from the nature reserve. It feels both expansive and intimate, capturing the lighthouse not just as an iconic structure but as part of a living, shifting coastal landscape shaped by light, tide, weather and distance.

If you enjoy this print, there is also a softer pastel-toned sunrise taken the following morning from the very same position. The colours and atmosphere shift completely from fiery intensity to calm softness.