Bantry Bay is a
bayA bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
located in
County CorkCounty Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, southwest
IrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The bay runs approximately 35 km (21.7 mi) from northeast to southwest into the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 miles) wide at the head and 10 km (6.2 mi) wide at the entrance.
Bantry Inshore Search & Rescue Association (BISRA) provides an emergency lifeboat service to the Bantry Bay community. Equipped with a high speed rescue RIB BISRA is a declared resource of the Irish Coastguard.
Geographic features
The bay is a deep (approx 40 meters in the middle) and large natural harbor, with one of the longest inlets in southwest Ireland, bordered on the north by
Beara PeninsulaThe Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It has two mountain ranges running down its centre: the Caha Mountains and the Slieve Miskish Mountains...
, which separates Bantry Bay from Kenmare Bay. The southern boundary is
Sheep's Head PeninsulaSheep's Head, also known as Muntervary , is the headland at the end of the peninsula between Bantry Bay and Dunmanus Bay in County Cork, Ireland....
, separating Bantry Bay from
Dunmanus BayDunmanus Bay is a bay in County Cork, Ireland. The bay lies between Mizen Head to the south and Bantry Bay to the north with the small village of Durrus at the head of the bay. The bay is out of the main tidal flow with no significant rivers flowing into it and is little frequented by vessels. On...
. The main islands in the bay are
Bere IslandBere Island or Bear Island is an island off the west coast of County Cork, Ireland. It is roughly 11 km x 5 km in dimension and has a population of 210....
and
Whiddy IslandWhiddy Island is an island near the head of Bantry Bay, Ireland. It is approximately long and wide. The topography comprises gently-rolling glacial till, with relatively fertile soil...
. Bere Island is located near the entrance to the bay on the north side, across from the villages Curryglass, and Castletown Bearhaven. The town of Rerrin is the largest settlement on the island. The village of Ballynakilla is also located there. Whiddy Island is at the head of the bay near the south shore. It is the main
petroleumPetroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
terminus for Ireland, the harbor ideally suited for large ocean going
tankersA tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
. ConocoPhillips now maintains a Single Point Mooring (SPM) at the Whiddy Island oil terminal. Bantry Bay was featured during a famous Gulf Oil commercial showing the supertanker "Universe Kuwait" that aired during Apollo space coverage in 1971
Towns and villages around the bay include:
AdrigoleAdrigole, is a village situated on the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, in Ireland. It is centred around the junction of the R572 and R574 regional roads. It has a sparsely distributed population of about 450 people....
,
BantryBantry is a town on the coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the N71 national secondary road at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for 30 km to the west...
,
BallylickeyBallylickey or Ballylicky is a village on the N71 national secondary road near Bantry, County Cork, Ireland. The River Ovane flows into Bantry Bay at Ballylickey.-Tourism:* The area is notable for the Seaview Hotel....
, Cahermore, Cappanolsha,
CastletownbereCastletownbere is a small town in County Cork in Ireland. It is located on the southwest coast of Ireland, in West Cork, on Berehaven harbour near the entrance to Bantry Bay. It is also known as Castletown Berehaven. The name of the town comes from the no longer extant MacCarty Castle, and not...
(Castletown Bearhaven), Curryglass, Foilakill, Gerahies, and
GlengarriffGlengarriff is a village of approximately 800 people on the N71 national secondary road in the south-west region of County Cork, Ireland. Known internationally as a tourism venue, it boasts many natural attractions...
. Main routes that follow parts of the bay include the R572 (part of the "Ring of Beara") and the N71. The Bantry Bay Golf Club is at the head of the bay, across from
Whiddy IslandWhiddy Island is an island near the head of Bantry Bay, Ireland. It is approximately long and wide. The topography comprises gently-rolling glacial till, with relatively fertile soil...
. The O'Sullivan Beara Castle
DunboyDunboy Castle was a stronghold of the O'Sullivan Bere, a Gaelic clan leader and 'Chief of Dunboy'. The castle is located on the Beara Peninsula in south-west Ireland near the town of Castletownbere and was built to guard and defend the harbour of Berehaven...
is just across from Bere Island. "Copper John" Puxley's Manor is in
DunboyDunboy may refer to:* Dunboy Castle, County Cork, Ireland* Siege of Dunboy, in 1602...
.
Rebellion of 1798
The town of
BantryBantry is a town on the coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies on the N71 national secondary road at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for 30 km to the west...
, at the head of the bay, is associated with the
Irish Rebellion of 1798The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
as being the place where an earlier attempt to land launch a rebellion was made by a
FrenchThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fleet, including Wolfe Tone in December 1796. The French fleet consisting of 43 ships carrying 15,000 troops had divided mid-Atlantic into smaller groups to avoid interception by the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
with orders to reform at Bantry Bay. The bulk of the fleet arrived successfully, but several ships, including the
flagshipA flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
Fraternité carrying General Hoche were delayed. While awaiting their arrival, bad weather intervened and the lack of leadership, together with uneasiness at the prospect of being trapped, forced the decision to return to
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Tone wrote of the expedition in his diary, saying that
We were close enough to toss a biscuit ashore. The square in Bantry is today named after Wolfe Tone.
Bantry Longboat
A longboat used in a French scouting landing, lay in
Bantry HouseBantry House is a historic house with gardens in Bantry, County Cork, Ireland.-History:Bantry House was constructed in about 1700 on the South side of Bantry Bay. In 1750, Councillor Richard White bought Blackrock from Samuel Hutchinson and changed the name to Seafield...
until 1944, when it was presented to the
National Museum of IrelandThe National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.-Archaeology:...
. In 1977 it was lent to the
Maritime Institute of IrelandThe Maritime Institute of Ireland was founded in 1941, at a time when World War II was raging and many seamen were in great peril of either being severely injured or losing their lives. Ireland, being an island nation, was dependent on the sea for all forms of movement external to the island as...
who exhibited it in the
National Maritime Museum of IrelandThe National Maritime Museum of Ireland opened in 1978 in the former Mariners' Church in Haigh Terrace, near the centre of Dún Laoghaire town, southeast of Dublin city.The church was built in 1837 for seafarers and remained open until 1971...
,
Dún LaoghaireDún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...
, until 2003. A scale model is now displayed. It was restored at the Liverpool Museum at a cost of €50,000. It is currently (2007) on display in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, as part of the
Soldiers and Chiefs exhibition
http://www.museum.ie/exhibitionsandcollections/details.asp?id=173&subsection=collections&site_id=1.
Betelgeuse disaster
On January 8, 1979, 50 people were killed when a French
oil tankerAn oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...
, the
Betelgeuse, was offloading at
Whiddy IslandWhiddy Island is an island near the head of Bantry Bay, Ireland. It is approximately long and wide. The topography comprises gently-rolling glacial till, with relatively fertile soil...
when it caught fire, exploded, and broke into three pieces. The bay has had numerous shipwrecks over the years. In 1981, while clean up efforts using
sonarSonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
sweeps for the
Betelgeuse were under way, the wreck of the French
frigateA frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
La SurveillanteSurveillante was an Iphigénie-class 32-gun frigate of the French Navy. She took part in the Naval operations in the American Revolutionary War, where she became famous for her battle with HMS Quebec; in 1783, she brought the news that the war was over to America...
, which had been scuttled during a storm north of Whiddy Island on 2 January 1797, was found.
Geographical stats
- Latitude: 51°42' N (51.700), Longitude: 9°28' W (-8.533), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
(UNCTAD) code: IEBYT
External links