The original facility consisted of a small cottage and a square tower which supported a coal-fired beacon.

In 1790, the coal beacon was replaced with a set of six Argand oil lamps, each including a silvered copper parabolic and a bulls-eye glass pane.

A new tower and house for the keeper, designed by George Halpin Senior, the corporation's Inspector of Works, was completed on 17 March 1814.

The top of the tower stood 41 metres (134 ft) above the sea, and the fixed white catoptric light was provided by a set of 24 Argand lamps and reflectors.

The fog bell was finally installed in April 1853, as a result of the Queen Victoria shipwreck and its subsequent Board of Trade inquiry.

A gas works was built at the station to produce the fuel, first from oil, then shale, and finally rich cannel coal.

Part of the original lighthouse structure and the adjoining buildings have now been reconditioned as offices for D4H Technologies which appropriately provide software for the readiness, response, and re-evaluation of emergencies and incidents worldwide.

The preservation of shipping afforded by this lighthouse is reflected on in Letitia Elizabeth Landon's 1834 poem, Howth Light-House.