St Helens Harbour was originally built for lightkeepers and maritime communities who depended on the sea to support their families. Over to your left you can glimpse a row of small Coastguard Cottages built in 1817 where the early lighthouse keepers and their families once lived.  Below them is the beautiful and very scenic St Helens beach stretching northwards towards Greenore Point.  This beach popular for fishing and all water-based activities.  The nearby golf club is open to the public and welcomes walkers and visitors to the area.

Looking out over the harbour wall is Tuskar Rock Lighthouse. Built in 1812 on a group of rocks that destroyed more ships than any other Irish coastal feature, 176 are listed, the lighthouse is built from granite and stands 37 m tall.  Several lives were claimed during its construction and in 1968 Aer Lingus Flight 712 crashed near the lighthouse with the loss of 61 lives.  The lighthouse was converted to automatic transmission in March 1993 when keepers were withdrawn from service.

To your right lie the ruins of an early Christian Church called St Helens.  Devotion to St Helen was brought to Ireland by the crusader Normans.  The adjoining graveyard was associated with the burial of those who lost their lives in shipwrecks.  The headstone is in memory of a little girl Elisa Green aged 4 years who drowned on a journey from Wexford to Rosslare Fort on 15 March 1835.

This trail extends 4 km to the south towards Ballytrent and St Margarets and finishes at the end of Carne Beach just short of the Windmills which you will see in the distance.

Enjoy your walk and be sure to look at the Trailhead Sign in Carne which will lead you on to Our Lady’s Island and the Norman Way.