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BANTRY |
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The beauty of BANTRY is its setting at the head of ever-turbulent
Bantry Bay, which stretches thirty miles from the town to the ocean. The
deep, churning blue waters of the bay, backed by the dramatic heights of
the Beara's Caha Mountains and cowering, usually, under a notoriously
changeable sky, form as dramatic a backdrop as any in Ireland. If the
tide's out, it's well worth taking a short stroll along the stony shore
from the north end of the harbour to fully appreciate all of this.
Alternatively, take the steep road that runs up to Vaughan's Pass from
the back of the town, as this also affords spectacular views over the
bay.
The Town
Bantry sits around a long square focused at the head of the bay,
distinguished by a pretty Regency Gothic church, a statue of St Brendan
staring out to sea, and a rather refined one of Wolfe Tone further
inland. In the immediate surrounds are lush wooded slopes - a safe haven
indulged between the ravages of the sea and the wilds of the rocky
mountains. The Sheep's Head Way starts here, passing through the grounds
of Bantry House before heading west for the low hills of the Sheep's
Head Peninsula . The town itself is the chief fishing port and
commercial centre for the area, and the traditional market is held on
the first Friday of every month.
Bantry House (March-Oct daily 9am-6pm; house, armada exhibition and
gardens £6/¬7.62, gardens only £2/¬2.54), nowadays provides an elegant
vision of the rarefied life led by the Anglo-Irish aristocracy.
Sumptuously decorated and packed with art treasures, it deserves some
time. Much of the furniture is French Napoleonic, and there are Gobelin
tapestries and Aubusson carpets; but what makes this house such a gem is
the sheer variety of artefacts that have been collected, many of them
during the second earl's European wanderings in the nineteenth century.
The setting is superb: ordered landscaped gardens look down over the
bay, calmly asserting the harmony of the aristocratic order, unruffled
by the ruggedness of the surroundings. The Bantry 1796 French Armada
Exhibition Centre (June-Aug daily 11am-4pm; this may change and it is
advisable to phone ahead or check with the tourist office; tel
027/51796), housed in one of the courtyards, gives a blow-by-blow
account of Wolfe Tone's failed mission. You can see artefacts recovered
from the wreck of the frigate La Surveillante , scuttled on Whiddy
Island in 1797 and excavated in 1982.
Another aspect of the past is remembered with relish by the ladies who
run the Bantry Museum , behind the fire station on Wolfe Tone Square
(June-Aug Tues & Thurs 10am-1pm, Wed & Fri 2-5pm; 50p/¬0.68). The museum
is the collection of the local history society - domestic paraphernalia,
old newspapers and everyday trivia of every sort - which the curators
willingly demonstrate with an entertaining blend of history and gossip.
The modern library, at the top of Bridge Street, was built in 1974 and,
at first glance, looks like some sort of spaceship, though the design
was in fact inspired by a prehistoric dolmen: as adventurous a piece of
public architecture as you'll find in the west of Ireland, it's let down
by a white facade that already seems thoroughly tacky.
One final thing worth going out of your way to see is the fine, early
Christian Kilnaruane Pillar Stone just out of town. Its worn carvings
depict four men rowing, an apostle and the cross; two of the men are
thought to represent SS Paul and Anthony, and the boat is considered to
be an early representation of a currach. Follow the main road south out
of town and take the first turning on the left past The Westlodge Hotel
: the stone is in a field 500 yards further on the right.
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