Council plans marketing agency to help attract cruise liners

Cork County Council is to establish an agency which it hopes will bring more cruise liners into West Cork.

The council is acting on a report it commissioned from consultant Sean Geary, a former deputy chief executive of the Port of Cork, which showed the region could benefit significantly from chasing cruise line firms.

Mr Geary said 48 cruise ships had dropped anchor in Bantry Bay in the past 10 years and he estimated that was worth €1m to the local economy. He said while ships traditionally came into Bantry, they had occasionally anchored off Castletownbere, Baltimore and Schull.