Admiralty Charts Dunmanus Bay, West Cork,  Reference Points Ardgoina House (Evanson), Sea Lodge (Evanson). Durrus Court (Evanson) and Beaches of the Peninsula.

Courtesy John Tobin.

The Ardgoina property was built by the Evanson probably early 18th century.  It is extant and has defensive features built in the memory of the 1641 uprising.  The charts were likely done early 19th century adn regularly updated. During the Troubles in the early 1970s one of the Royal Navy survey vessels was blown up.

Rossmore

Gearhameen end, Trá na gCailliní (Stand of the girls).

Rock, Carrigeen Cúl na Horna  opposite Shannon house, demarcated entitlement of people in Cúl na Horna (Upper Clashadoo) to extract sea weed.

Kilcrohane

There you have the following strands:

  • Traig na Teampall – Kilcrohane Pier strand – so called I presume because of the old ruined Christian church in the graveyard. This church was occupied in medieval times by various holy men, one of whom was St Crohane, whose name was attached to the village and townland of Kilcrohane (Cill Crohane).
  • Across the way from this you have Farnamanagh Strand, which roughly translates to ‘land of the monks’. A monastery was built here in early christian times and was a center of refuge for persons of substance from the Iberian peninsula which came under attack approx mid 700’s from the Moorish invasion. According to legend, 2 of the sons of the king of Spain drowned there when one got into difficulties while swimming and the other went to help him. We know from history of the Umayyad conquest of Hispania and in particular the northern Iberian Peninsula during the mid 700’s AD, some of the smaller Spanish kingdoms came under intense pressure and sent their families abroad for safe-keeping during these turbulent times. The Basques and the Galician’s had been coming north to Irish waters for centuries to fish during the Summer and in the process establishing trade and religious links, so it is reasonable to assume that some of these families established places of refuge for their families here.
  • West of Kilcrohane Pier lies Cois na Muica.
  • Further on Gort na Cloise Strand.
  • Duneen Pier. This is a substantial stone construction and was built to enable sailing ships engaged in coastal trade to dock in relative safety. In its time it was a significant port for the export of salted fish and there is also a legend that it was used as a port by brandy smugglers. There is a well hidden cave here which is only accessible during very low tides. The entrance is very small necessitating a person to crawl on their hands and knees which in turn leads to a large chamber which was used for the storage of the contraband.
  • Further west, the last pier on the south side of Dunmanus Bay is Tra Ruaim. This also played a significant part in the substantial Pilchard and Mackerel fishery of the Bay.
  • Just before you reach the tip of the Peninsula lies the settlement of Tooreen seemingly perched mid way on the cliff overlooking the Bay. Looking across you can see Three Castle Head and beyond that the Mizen Head. Below this settlement at the foot of the cliffs lies a natural rock slipway which enabled the inhabitants to safely launch and secure their fishing boats. A large storm in 1949 wrecked many boats in the area and they were never replaced.

Over time additional items not currently listed will be added.