Castletownbere is a small town in Ireland, located in County Cork ( Munster province) Republic of Ireland. It is also known as Castletown Berehaven.
It is located on the south coast of Ireland, on the natural harbor of Berehaven near the entrance to Bantry Bay.
The deep water port was used extensively by smugglers until the 19th century. From 1922 to 1938, the Berehaven Estuary was one of three British sovereign military bases established during Treaty Ports in the Irish Free State. The nearby golf course had been part of the Royal Naval Base until 1938.
The town is also known as Castletown Berehaven (locally only Castletown or CTB). The name of the community comes from Dunboy Castle which was the home of the O’Sullivan-Bere family.
A regionally important fishing port, the town also serves as a commercial hub for the local countryside, Located on the Atlantic Nature Trail, with excellent accommodation options, great restaurants and charming pubs.
Access : Coordinates: 51.652, -9.909 / Castletownbere is connected to Bere Island by two car ferries. It is possible to moor with pleasure boats. Castletownbere has a fishing port, larger pleasure boats can also moor here.
/ By car : The R 572 “Ring of Beara” runs through Castletownbere.
Highlights :
- Dunboy Castle – 3.5 km west of the city – was the seat of O’Sullivan Beare who rebelled against the English crown with other Gaelic lords and aid from Spain. The castle was reduced by the forces of Elizabeth I in 1602. O’Sullivan Beare then retreated with his acolytes to County Leitrim. O’Sullivan Beare’s resistance was respectfully commemorated in 2002.
- Fishing port : Fishing has been Castletownbere’s main economic activity, but only since the early 1950s. In the 1990s boats from the Soviet Union and its countries came to Berehaven to purchase and process the fish caught in the area. region. Castletownbere is currently one of Ireland’s top 5 fishing ports
- Roancarrigmore Lighthouse : Roancarrigmore is an uninhabited island located in Bantry Bay in County Cork . There is the Roancarrigmore Lighthouse built in 1847 and managed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights.
- IRA memorial in the town’s square: ‘In Memory of the Men and Women of the Berehaven Battalion.
- Waterfall House :4.8 km east of town is Waterfall House. It was the official residence of the Commodore of the Western Approaches (the area of the Atlantic Ocean near the British coast) squadron of the Royal Navy, anchored in Berehaven.
- Menhir of Leitrim Beg : The menhir is located on the Beara Peninsula, in the locality of Trafrask, about twenty kilometers east of Castletownbere.
- Menhir de Gour : The menhir of Gour is a megalith , The menhir is located on the Beara Peninsula, about six kilometers west-southwest of Castletownbere. It stands in a meadow located along the R572 road.
- The area is the site for the performance of Daphne du Maurier’s 1943 novel Hungry Hill named after the neighboring mountain of the same name.
- Brandyhall Bridge : Brandy Hall Bridge near Castletown-Berehaven, Co Cork. / the Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart on the north side of the main street.
Activities : Scenic Driving- Auto Touring / sightseeing / photo opportunities / trekking / the town Located on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Go next : Bere Island : an island off the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland. / Bantry, 35 km southeast of Castletownbere.
