Outdoor Lanterns Ireland: How to Choose Wall, Post and Hanging Lanterns (2026 Buying Guide)
Shamrock Electrical
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A lantern is the one outdoor light people choose with their eyes rather than a spec sheet, and that is exactly why so many Irish homes end up with the wrong one. The head looks right in the photo, then it arrives too big for the wall, or it rusts through its second winter, or it lights the top of your head instead of the doorstep. Lanterns are worth getting right because they sit on the front of the house where everyone sees them, and because a good one lasts twenty years while a bad one is a stain running down your render by March. This guide covers the three ways a lantern mounts, what the body is made of and why that decides how long it lives here, how to size one to a wall, what bulb to put in it, and where the law says you need a registered electrician.
In this guide
- The three ways a lantern mounts
- Resin or metal in Irish weather?
- What size lantern suits the wall?
- What bulb goes in a lantern?
- Where to put lanterns around the house
- Do you need an electrician?
- Common mistakes
- Frequently asked questions
The three ways a lantern mounts
Almost every decision follows from this one. The same lantern head is sold on three different fixings, and picking the fixing first stops you falling for a head that cannot go where you need it.
On a wall, using a bracket
The default, and the right answer beside a front door, a back door or a garage. The bracket carries the head out from the wall so light falls on the step rather than down the brickwork. Most brackets in the Fumagalli range reverse, so the same fitting works upturned or downturned depending on whether you want the light thrown up the wall or down onto the ground.
A half lantern that sits flat against the wall, so it suits a narrow porch, a passage or anywhere a projecting bracket would be in the way. Available in white, black or grey and the cheapest way into the range.
For a full traditional lantern on a bracket, the hexagonal Anna is the one most Irish houses end up with. It is the smallest of the classic shapes, which is usually the right call on a standard semi.
The compact classic hexagonal lantern at 310mm tall, on the reversible Bisso bracket so it mounts upturned or downturned. Black or white, and small enough not to overwhelm a standard door surround.
If you want the lantern to come on by itself, there is a modern version with the sensor built in. It is a different look to the traditional hexagon, cleaner and more contemporary, and it saves running a separate PIR.
A clean modern lantern with an integrated 8W LED, so there is no bulb to buy or change. Available plain or with a PIR motion sensor built in for a front door that lights itself as you walk up.
On a pier, pillar or post
A lantern on a pillar cap either side of a driveway entrance is the single biggest improvement most houses can make to how they look at night. The base sits flat on top of the pier and the head sits above it. The same base range also reverses to hang as a pendant, which is handy if you change your mind later.
The low Minilot base with the classic Anna head, sized for a gate pier or a garden wall cap. Reverses to hang as a pendant, and the best stocked lantern we carry in black or white.
For a driveway with no pier to sit a lantern on, you need the head and a full height post together. Those come as complete units at 1,100mm and 2,090mm, and because of their size and weight they are counter collection only rather than delivered. If a post lantern is what you are after, call 01 401 9907 or email sales@shamrockelectrical.ie and we will confirm what is on the floor in Rathcoole before you travel.
Hanging on a chain
The forgotten option, and often the best looking one. A chain hung lantern suits a deep porch, a covered entrance, a pergola or a car port, anywhere there is something solid overhead and enough height that nobody walks into it. It reads as more considered than a wall light because far fewer houses have one.
A traditional six panel lantern on an 850mm chain pendant in black. One of the larger heads in the range, which suits the extra height a hanging position gives you.
Resin or metal in Irish weather?
This is the part people skip and then regret. Outdoor lanterns fail from the body outward, not from the electrics inward, and in a wet climate the body material decides the lifespan.
A powder coated metal lantern looks perfect on day one. The problem is that powder coating is a skin. Chip it hanging the fitting, catch it with a ladder, or simply let ten Irish winters work on the edges, and moisture gets underneath. Once corrosion starts under the coating it spreads sideways where you cannot see it, then bubbles the paint and bleeds rust down whatever the lantern is mounted on. Near the coast, where salt is in the air permanently, this is a question of when rather than whether.
Resin has no skin to breach because the colour goes through the material. It cannot rust and it cannot corrode. The Fumagalli range is moulded in Italy from shockproof UV stabilised technopolymer, which means it also will not chalk, fade or go brittle in sunlight the way cheap plastic does, and it carries a lifetime guarantee against rust and corrosion.
| Position | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Sheltered porch | Either material will last. Choose on looks and budget. |
| Exposed wall or gable | Resin, or metal you are prepared to replace inside ten years. |
| Gate pier or driveway | Resin. Piers catch weather from every direction. |
| Coastal or west facing | Resin only. Salt air ends powder coated metal quickly. |
What size lantern suits the wall?
The most common mistake in the whole category is buying too big. A lantern that looks modest in a warehouse photograph is enormous on a standard door surround. Measure the space you have between the door frame and the corner of the reveal, and work from that rather than from the picture.
| Head size | Roughly | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 310mm tall, 220mm wide | A standard semi, a narrow reveal, a pair either side of a door |
| Medium | Around 400mm tall | A wider elevation, a garage wall, a single lantern working alone |
| Large | 500mm tall, 315mm wide | A period house, a tall gable, a gate pier, a hanging position |
Two rules that save most of the trouble. If you are fitting a pair, go one size smaller than you think, because two lanterns read much bigger together than one does alone. And if the lantern is going up high, go one size larger, because height shrinks everything.
What bulb goes in a lantern?
Almost every traditional lantern takes a standard E27 screw bulb at a maximum of 60W, and the bulb is not included. That is a feature rather than an oversight, because it means you choose the brightness and the colour rather than being stuck with whatever the manufacturer soldered in.
- Go warm. 2700K warm white is the colour for a lantern. Natural white at 4000K is correct for a security floodlight and wrong here, and anything cooler makes a traditional lantern look like a fridge.
- Go filament. An LED filament bulb has visible glowing elements instead of a white plastic dome, which is what makes a clear glazed lantern look right rather than cheap.
- Go modest. Six to eight watts of LED is plenty. A lantern is there to be looked at and to light a doorstep, not to light a yard.
- Check the glazing. Clear glazing shows the bulb, so the bulb has to look well. Opal and smoked glazing diffuse the light and hide it, so anything goes.
The exceptions are worth knowing. The Evolec Nero has an integrated LED with no bulb at all, and the premium Siloe models ship with the LED lamp already included.
The decorative Victorian style bracket with the Ofir head and the LED lamp already fitted, so there is nothing else to buy. The one to choose where the house has some architecture worth answering.
Where to put lanterns around the house
Lanterns are decorative lighting that happens to be useful, which is the opposite of a floodlight. Put them where people arrive and where the house is seen, and use something else for coverage.
- Either side of the front door. The classic, and still the best. Mount them level with each other at roughly 1.8 to 2 metres so the light lands on the step and the lock.
- On the gate piers. A matched pair at the entrance frames the driveway and tells visitors they are in the right place. Nothing else does as much for how a house presents at night.
- Beside the garage or back door. A single lantern is enough. This is where a half lantern earns its place if the space is tight.
- Under a porch or pergola. Hang one on a chain rather than fighting a bracket onto an awkward wall.
- Along a boundary wall. Low output heads spaced generously beat one bright fitting, and they will not annoy the neighbours.
What lanterns are not for is security coverage. They throw light outward in all directions at modest output, which is what makes them pleasant and what makes them useless for lighting a whole driveway. Pair them with a sensor floodlight on the side passage or the yard and let each do the job it is good at.
Do you need an electrician?
Yes. Every lantern here is a mains fitting and must be connected to a fused spur or an existing outdoor circuit by a Registered Electrical Contractor under the Safe Electric scheme, and you should be given a Completion Certificate when the work is done.
Swapping an existing outdoor lantern for a new one in the same position is usually a short visit. A new position is a bigger job, because the cable route and the circuit protection both have to be right. Outdoors is second only to a bathroom for the consequences of getting it wrong, so it is not a job to have a go at.
Common mistakes
- Buying on the photograph. Check the millimetres against the wall you actually have. Oversized is the number one regret in this category.
- Mounting too high. A lantern above head height lights your scalp and leaves the doorstep dark. Around two metres is right.
- Choosing powder coated metal for a coastal site. It will look well for two winters and then it will not.
- Putting a cold white bulb in a traditional lantern. Instantly ruins the look. Warm white filament every time.
- Fitting a pair that do not match the door. Square heads suit modern doors, hexagonal heads suit traditional ones. Mixing them looks accidental.
- Expecting a lantern to do security. It will not. That is a separate fitting doing a separate job.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best material for outdoor lanterns in Ireland?
Resin, in most positions. It cannot rust or corrode because the colour runs through the material rather than sitting on the surface as a coating that can be chipped. Powder coated metal is fine in a genuinely sheltered porch, but on an exposed wall, a gate pier or anywhere near the coast it will corrode from the edges within a few winters.
What size outdoor lantern should I buy?
Measure the wall between the door frame and the corner of the reveal first. A small head at around 310mm tall suits a standard Irish semi and is the right choice for a pair either side of a door. Go up to 400mm or 500mm only for a wider elevation, a tall gable, a gate pier or a hanging position, where height and distance shrink everything.
What bulb do outdoor lanterns take?
Most traditional lanterns take a standard E27 screw bulb up to 60W, supplied separately. Choose a 2700K warm white LED filament bulb at around six to eight watts. Warm white keeps the traditional look, and filament styling matters if the lantern has clear glazing that shows the bulb.
Can I fit an outdoor lantern myself?
No. These are mains fittings, so the connection must be made by a Registered Electrical Contractor under the Safe Electric scheme, and you should receive a Completion Certificate. Replacing a lantern in an existing position is a short job for a qualified electrician, while a new position needs the cable run and protection designed properly.
Do outdoor lanterns work as security lights?
Not really. A lantern spreads a modest amount of light in all directions, which is what makes it pleasant to look at and poor at covering a driveway or a yard. Use lanterns at the door and the piers for welcome and appearance, and add a motion activated floodlight where you need actual coverage.
Can the same lantern be used on a wall, a post and a chain?
Often yes. The Fumagalli system is modular, so the same head fits a wall bracket, a pier top base or a hanging chain depending on which fixing you pair it with. That means you can run one style consistently around a house and still mount it correctly in each position.
Where can I buy outdoor lanterns in Ireland?
From Shamrock Electrical, with free delivery on every order to all 26 counties and no minimum spend. We are an Irish owned supplier based in Rathcoole, Co. Dublin, just off the N7, and we post nationwide, so you do not need to be near the counter to buy. Browse the outdoor lanterns range, or call 01 401 9907. Note that the full height post lanterns are counter collection only because of their size and weight.
Related reading: for the wider picture on lighting an exterior, see our outdoor lights buying guide for Ireland. For the coverage lanterns deliberately do not provide, our guide to outdoor security lights and PIR floodlights covers sensors, placement and how bright each position needs to be.
Lanterns built to survive an Irish winter
Wall brackets, pier and pillar bases and hanging chain lanterns in resin that will not rust or corrode, with free delivery across Ireland on every order.
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