Sightseeing West Cork

For those interested in local sightseeing, attractions and history there are many attractions to choose from.

Below is a selection of West Corks best visitor attractions (in no particular order):

  • Skibbereen Heritage Centre, Skibbereen

This is located in the award winning beautifully restored old Gasworks building in Skibbereen. It houses the the Great Famine Commemoration Exhibition and the Lough Hyne Visitor Centre. There is also a genealogy service on offer. Open May 24th – September 25th 10am – 6pm. September 28th – October 31st open Tuesday – Saturday only. Winter months by appointment only until March 2012.

  • Bantry House and Gardens, Bantry

Bantry House is not only one of the finest historic houses in Ireland but it also commands one of the best views overlooking Bantry Bay in West Cork. It has been open to the public since 1946, the first to be so in the country and possibly also in the British Isles. The house is still owned and lived in by Egerton Shelswell-White, who is a direct descendant of Richard White (1, Earl of Bantry), and his family. Your visit includes a self guided tour of the house. Complimentary information sheets are available at the House reception. Open daily march 17th – October 31st 10am – 6pm.

  • West Cork Heritage Centre, Bandon

Is housed in Christ Church on North Main Street in Bandon. The Church was built in 1610 on the site of a Danish Fort and was reputedly the first church built in Ireland for Protestant worship. Some of the historic town walls of Bandon are incorporated in the layout of the Church. Deconsecrated in 1973, the church is now the setting of a unique exhibition in which visitors are transported through time to experience Bandon as it was in times past. The exhibition includes the old shop, schoolhouse, forge, kitchens and ship to shop apparatus. Open May 1st to September 30th 10am – 5pm

  • Timoleague Abbey, Timoleague

Was founded by the franciscan order in 1240 A.D. The abbey was built on the site of a monastic settlement founded by Saint Molaga in the 6th century. The villages name comes from the Irish for House of Molaga, Tigh Mologa.The abbey was extended by Donal Glas McCarthy in 1312, and by Irish and Norman patrons in the 16th century. The monks were dispersed by the Reformation, but returned in 1604. In 1612 the abbey was sacked by English soldiers who also smashed all of the stained glass windows, but much of the significant architecture remains. The friars remained in the abbey until 1629.

  • West Cork Model Railway Village, Clonakilty

Take a trip to the Model Railway Village for a fun and memorable day out on your visit to Clonakilty and West Cork. Walking into the model village you step back in time and see life as it was in the 1940′s. See the old West Cork railway line portrayed in delightful miniature serving the towns. The models and figurines are handmade at the model village to a scale of 1:24. Depicting busy market days, this is a joyful discovery for young and old alike. Relax in our unique tea room set on one of our authentic train carriages with a view of Clonakilty bay.

New West Cork Railway exhibition is open commomerating the closure of the line in 1961. Take the family on ride in the Tschu Tschu train which has tours daily in summer through Clonakilty town. Open daily 11am – 5pm.

  • Lios na gCon Ringfort, Clonakilty

Lios-na-gCon is a Ringfort in Darrara, Clonakilty. It has been reconstructed on its original site. Ringforts were built and occupied between c.400 AD and c.1200 AD, in the Early Christian and Viking periods. Like stone cashels and some lake land crannogs, they were the defended farmsteads of the native Irish Celts. These settlements were centres of mixed farming economy, and were largely self-sufficient in the production of tools, textiles, and household goods.

About 35,000 ringfort sites are identifiable in the Irish landscape today. Archaeological investigation of Lios-na-gCon found that the earthworks once formed a substantial defensive enclosure. Several small outhouses and animal pens stood against the stone reveffment wall of the banks inner face. Finds included iron slag and tool fragments, quernstones, a blue glass bead and crude bone stones and hammer stones.

  • Drombeg Stone Circle, Glandore

Drombeg “The Druids Altar” is probably Irelands most famous stone circle. The recumbent stone circle consists of seventeen pillar stones. It has been dated to between 153 BC and 127AD.  The best time to visit Drombeg is probably early morning as there is an almost continuous flow of visitors to this site. During the winter solstice it has been reported that the suns rays fall on the flat alter stone that faces the entrance to the circle.

Also present at the site is a Fulacht fiadh a communal cooking pit with a hearth. Hot stones were taken from the fire and dropped into the water trough, recent tests have shown they could boil seventy gallons of water in about fifteen minutes. This was still in use in 5th century AD.

  • Michael Collins Centre, Clonakilty

The Michael Collins Centre is the only facility in Ireland, at which visitors can receive a comprehensive presentation, by expert guides, on the life and times of Michael Collins. As soon as visitors arrive at the Michael Collins Centre, they proceed to the Cottage/theatre. A twenty minute audio/ visual explores the Big Fella’s childhood, his family history, his school days and the important Collins’ sites around Clonakilty. A guide then continues the presentation, using slides, large photographs or film clips, the visitor is taken through the 1916 rebellion, War of Independence, Treaty talks and the Civil War. The tragic death of Michael Collins at Beal Na Blath and his Legacy are also discussed.

The presentation ends with a guided tour of the ambush trail, a life size replica of an ambush site complete with Crossley Tender and replica of Michael Collins, famous Rolls Royce Armoured Car, “Sliabh Na mBan”. For the visitor who want to stand on the spot where history was made, the Michael Collins Tour is a must. Open Mid June – September 10.30am – 5pm Saturday 11am – 2pm.

  • Mizen Visitor Centre, Mizen Head

Mizen Head Signal Station, built to save lives off the treacherous rocks at Ireland’s most south-westerly point, five miles from Goleen, is open to the public. An award winning Maritime Museum and Heritage Attraction, this authentic all-weather experience is a must-see with its spectacular location on high cliffs with swirling Atlantic Ocean tides. From the Car park and Visitor Centre, the Signal Station is a ten minute walk along the path, down the 99 steps and across the Arched Bridge. The Mizen is famous for its wildflowers and sightings of wildlife, dolphins, whales, seals, gannets, kittiwakes, choughs – the bird migration north-south flight path is just a mile off shore.

The Fastnet Rock Lighthouse, Ireland’s Teardrop, was the last landfall seen by many emigrants to America and one of Marconi’s first telegraph stations. You can visit Mizen Café, and the Gift Shop free of charge. Open June – September 10am – 6pm daily. March, April, May, Oct 10.30am – 5pm daily. November – Mid March 11am – 4pm Weekends.

  • Charles Fort, Kinsale

Charles Fort is one of the finest surviving examples of a 17th Century star-shaped fort, and much of the construction begun in 1678 remains. The fort has two enormous bastions overlooking the estuary, and three facing inland. Within its walls were all the barracks and ancillary facilities to support the fort’s garrison. The fort continued in military use until 1922.

As one of the largest military installations in the country, Charles Fort has been associated with some of the most momentous events in Irish history. The most significant of these are the Williamite War 1689-91 and the Civil War 1922-23. Charles Fort was declared a National Monument in 1973. Across the estuary is James Fort designed by Paul Ive in 1602. Open daily Mid March – October 10am – 6pm and November – Mid March 10am – 5pm.