Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay ( _ga. Cuan Baoi / Inbhear na mBárc / Bádh Bheanntraighe) is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately 35 km (22 miles) from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 miles) wide at the head and 10 km (6 miles) wide at the entrance.

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 Peninsula, which separates Bantry Bay from Kenmare Bay. The southern boundary is Sheep's Head Peninsula, separating Bantry Bay from Dunmanus Bay. The main islands in the bay are Bere Island and Whiddy Island. 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 petroleum terminus for Ireland, the harbor ideally suited for large ocean going tankers. ConocoPhillips now maintains a Single Point Mooring (SPM) at the Whiddy Island oil terminal.

Towns and villages around the bay include: Adrigole, Bantry, Ballylickey, Cahermore, Cappanolsha, Castletownbere (Castletown Bearhaven), Curryglass, Foilakill, Gerahies, and Glengarriff. 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 Island. The O'Sullivan Beara Castle Dunboy is just across from Bere Island. "Copper John" Puxley's Manor is in Dunboy.

History

Rebellion of 1798

The town of Bantry, at the head of the bay, is associated with the Irish Rebellion of 1798 as being the place where an earlier attempt to land launch a rebellion was made by a French 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 Navy with orders to reform at Bantry Bay. The bulk of the fleet arrived successfully, but several ships, including the flagship "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 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 House until 1944, when it was presented to the National Museum of Ireland. In 1977 it was lent to the Maritime Institute of Ireland who exhibited it in the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, Dún Laoghaire, 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 tanker, the "Betelgeuse", was offloading at Whiddy Island 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 sonar sweeps for the "Betelgeuse" were under way, the wreck of the French frigate "La Surveillante", 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), UNCTAD code: IEBYT

ee also

* Durrus and District History.
* Dunlop cheese - 'Dunlop ' Cheese making imported into Scotland from Ireland.

External links

* [http://bantry.ie/ Bantry.ie - Information about Bantry and Bantry Bay]
* [http://www.bearatourism.com/ Beara Tourism]
* [http://www.bantrybayport.com/ Port of Bantry Bay]
* [http://www.science.ulster.ac.uk/cma/quinn%20et%20al%202002%20la%20surveillante.pdf Integrated Geophysical Surveys of The French Frigate La Surveillante (1797)] pdf
* [http://www.boc.ie/Refs_255.htm Byrne Ó Cléirigh Bantry Oil Terminal site]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Bantry Bay — ▪ bay, Ireland       long inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southwestern County Cork, Ireland. The bay has a maximum length of 30 miles (48 km) and is 10 miles (16 km) wide at its broadest point; it separates the Beara peninsula to the north from the… …   Universalium

  • Bantry Bay —   [ bæntrɪ beɪ], etwa 45 km tief ins Land greifende Bucht im Südwesten der Republik Irland, mit wintermildem Klima (dank Golfstrom) und submediterraner Vegetation (Fuchsien, Rhododendren); Fremdenverkehr mit Zentrum Glengarriff …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Bantry Bay — Sp Bántrio įlanka Ap Bantry Bay angliškai L Keltų j., Airija …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Bantry Bay (New South Wales) — Bantry Bay in Sydney Australia is located just off Middle Harbour in the Garigal National Park.History and DescriptionMany people think Bantry Bay was a military complex, but in fact it was used to store military explosives during the Second… …   Wikipedia

  • Bantry Bay, Cape Town — Bantry Bay is a suburb of Cape Town situated on the slopes of Lion s Head and overlooking a rocky coastline, Western Cape Province, South Africa. It was originally called Botany Bay after a botanical garden that was planted here for the… …   Wikipedia

  • Bantry Bay (disambiguation) — There are several locations named Bantry Bay: *Bantry Bay A bay in southwest Ireland. *Bantry Bay (New South Wales) A bay off Sydney Harbour. *Bantry Bay, South Africa A city on the Western Cape, South Africa …   Wikipedia

  • Bantry Bay — geographical name bay SW Ireland in SW County Cork …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • BANTRY BAY —    a deep inlet on the SW. coast of Ireland; a place of shelter for ships …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • The Bantry Bay Luxury Suites Cape Town (Cape Town) — The Bantry Bay Luxury Suites Cape Town country: South Africa, city: Cape Town (Bantry Bay) The Bantry Bay Luxury Suites Cape Town The Bantry Bay Luxury Suites Cape Town is conveniently located, close to the world renowned Table Mountain and the… …   International hotels

  • Battle of Bantry Bay — Infobox Military Conflict conflict=Battle of Bantry Bay partof=the Nine Years War caption= Battle of Bantry Bay by Adriaen van Diest. date=11 May 1689 [ All dates in the article are New Style (unless otherwise stated). The Old Style calendar as… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”