Echoes of pirates still haunt rural landscape
West Cork’s rugged coastline, full of remote coves, craggy headlands and small strands that are often inaccessible from the land, has had many connections with pirates and their illicit trade.
Irish pirates tended to concentrate on the southwest coast.
Some roamed as far as the Caribbean and the East Coast of America as the myths and legends surrounding them grew — Blackbeard, John Racham, Captain Kidd and others.
Pirates were recognised as the greatest threat to the economy of England and other European countries during the peak of their activity, from 1603 to 1625, when the Crown had just three ships rousting them out of their safe havens.
No merchant ship was considered safe on the high seas. Vessels were sent out with handpicked captains and heavily armed crews.
But when peace was declared between England, Holland and Spain in 1609, the government took the opportunity to initiate a clampdown on pirates who frequented the Devon, Cornish and south coasts of England, driving many of them to take refuge in the southwest of Ireland.
Frustrated though the Irish authorities might have been by this development, many coastal communities had a different take on the situation. They gave the crews hospitality, bought their booty, provisioned their ships and sometimes financed their next ventures. Pirates were regarded as benefactors who supplied cut-price goods such as sugar, tobacco, silk and spices which would otherwise have been out of the reach of most people. Pirates found safe haven in Glandore, Baltimore, Castletownbere, Bantry and Ballinskelligs.
But another sort of trade was flourishing.
Pirates known as the Barbary Corsairs were slave traders who, wrote British historian Giles Milton, captured more than one million unfortunate Europeans who were sold in the great slave markets of Morocco.
In the summer of 1631, Baltimore fell prey to an audacious attack by these pirates. At the time, the population consisted largely of English settlers. They had arrived some years earlier to work in the lucrative pilchard industry under leases supplied by Sir Fineen O’Driscoll, chieftain of the clan. Baltimore’s founder, Sir Thomas Cooke was accused of dabbling in piracy. Some went as far as to describe Baltimore as “a nest of pirates”.
Still, nothing could have prepared the small community for the more than 200 armed corsairs who, after landing unobserved, torched the thatched roofs of houses and carried off with them “young and old, out of their beds”. They had over 100 captives — women, men and children — who were destined for the slave markets of North Africa and were never heard of again, other than three women, ransomed 14 years after their abduction.
This was the worst attack by Barbary pirates ever recorded on mainland Ireland or Britain. The O’Driscoll castle in Baltimore bore silent witness to the sometime turbulent march of history. Once the administrative centre of the powerful O’Driscoll clan, by the middle of the 17th century it had fallen into a ruined state and looked destined to join the ranks of other abandoned castles that dot the landscape, collapsed roofs and broken walls poetic but obviously doomed.
Then in 1997, the ruined Dun Na Sead came up for sale and local couple Patrick and Bernadette McCarthy bought it and decided to restore it. Bernadette — or Bernie — McMcCarthy, told me about the experience.
>>It was a massive undertaking Bernie. What prompted you to take it on?
>>“We are from the area. We would always say what a shame it was that such a beautiful building that was so rich in history was obviously going to disappear, and that it wouldn’t be around for future generations. As a former teacher, I’ve always been interested in history. After we’d decided to buy Dun na Sead, I did a lot of research at UCC; it’s extraordinary to how far back you can go. A Lord Sleynie, a Norman, owned the first building on the site. In 1305, it came into the possession of the McCarthys. The O’Driscoll clan acquired it in 1413. And at one time, it was used as a garrison for Cromwell’s men. A Cromwellian bullet was found in the excavations.”
>>How long did the renovation take, and what was the process like?
>>A. “Well it was hard work, but it was always fascinating. We finally finished in 2005. During the whole process, we consulted with experts, had very careful archaeological excavations done. Photos were taken of the original position of stones so that everything could be returned to its former place, and did everything we could to ensure that we kept the original design of the place. We even had stones analysed to be sure we were using the right kind of lime mortar, and maintained the windows unique shape. Although we have made a few concessions to modern life, such as under floor central heating which we had installed then replaced the original flagstones over it.”
>>I was just going to say that the only thing, which would put me off living in such a beautiful building, was the cold from all that stone.
>>“No, it’s not like that at all. It’s very warm and comfortable and in the Great Hall, there are two fantastic fireplaces. It was lovely to see it slowly coming back to life. And eventually, we decided that we would live there. It’s a wonderful experience.
“Dun na Sead isn’t really a castle, it’s actually what is known as a fortified or strong house. And it’s very rare, especially since it’s inhabited. There’s a similar house in Dorset in the UK, but it’s in ruins. We open to the public all summer, and many events are held here. Now we host the Pirates Festival, there are family or clan gatherings — the O’Driscolls for instance — and people are very glad that Dun na Sead is inhabited. The more I learn about it, the more I want to know. It’s a fantastic place to live.”
