D Irl 21806 E; Bantry Bay – long view

Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork. The bay runs approximately 35 km (22 mi) 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 (6.2 mi) wide at the entrance.

Bantry Bay is a ria, a bay formed from a drowned river valley as a result of a relative rise in sea level. The bay is a deep (approx 40 metres in the middle) and large natural bay, 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 of the island is Berehaven Harbour and Castletown Bearhaven port.

Whiddy Island is at the head of the bay near the south shore. It is the main petroleum terminus for Ireland, the harbour ideally suited for large oceangoing tankers.

The O'Sullivan Beara Dunboy Castle is just across from Bere Island in Berehaven Harbour. "Copper John" Puxley's Manor is in Dunboy. Daphne du Maurier’s novel ‘Hungry Hill’ is based on the Puxley family's involvement in the area's tin and copper mining industry.

The Battle of Bantry Bay occurred in 1689, during the Nine Years' War, between English and French fleets. The town of Bantry, at the head of the bay, is associated with the Irish Rebellion of 1798 through an earlier attempt, led by Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone, to launch a rebellion there in December 1796. A French fleet, consisting of 43 ships carrying 15,000 troops, had divided mid-Atlantic into smaller groups to avoid interception by the Royal Navy and planned 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. (source; Wikipedia)

This view down Bantry Bay takes in a wide vista, all the way from Whiddy Island down to Bere Island in the far distance. And the ruggedness of Hungry Hill emphasises just how tough an area this is to live in. During famine times in Ireland, this part of West Cork was among the worst hit areas overall. I love the fact that everything here is natural, virtually untouched by mankind. I feel that it this scene has remained almost unchanged for many, many centuries