Islands of Ireland: Full steam ahead on Beara

The sea has carved out a U-shaped harbour from the seaboard and at its centre lies Orthon’s Island, which draws in the eye as if by magnetic power

The Princess Beara steamer of the Bantry Bay Steamship Company called to Adrigole on the Beara Peninsula around 1910. Orthon’s Island is behind the steamship. Restored image by Robert Cross, courtesy of the National Library’s Lawrence Collection

To say that the Beara Peninsula is rich in prehistoric monuments is a bit like saying that there are lots of stars in the sky. They are simply everywhere.

The old road that winds under Sugar Loaf Mountain west of Glengarriff, Co Cork and through the townland of Lackavane has several monuments from antiquity to stagger the mind, if it is so disposed.