Eyeries (historically spelt as it is pronounced, ''Irees'' or ''Iries''; ) is a village and its hinterland, on the

Beara Peninsula Beara ( ga, Béarra) or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare "river" (actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down it ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, near the border with

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

. It lies at the foot of a hilly area, with a beach nearby, and is home to several retail and tourist businesses.

Geography

One of the most south-westerly villages in Ireland, Eyeries sits on a bluff overlooking Coulagh Bay and the mouth of the Kenmare River (actually a bay), looking towards the Atlantic Ocean, halfway along the north coast of the Beara Peninsula. It lies at the base of Maulin, which, at , is the highest peak in the small Slieve Miskish mountain range. The Eyeries area consists of the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of the same name, and parts of other nearby townlands, and including the area called Eyeries Beg ("little Eyeries"). It lies near the county boundary between Cork and Kerry. Access is by road, with the village lying east of Allihies and Dursey Island, southwest of Ardgroom, and north of Castletown-Berehaven (Castletownbere), the main local centre. The R571 regional road passes through the area, and the village is just off it. There is a summer-only Bus Éireann service, and private bus companies also serve the area, some year-round. Nearby, to the south, and passing along to the west, is the Kealincha River. The river is crossed by both old stone bridges and a modern footbridge. Local activists formed a walk, the Eyeries Looped Walk, partly connected to the Beara Way, and later added information panels to form the Eyeries Eco Walk. The area also forms part of the

Wild Atlantic Way The Wild Atlantic Way ( ga, Slí an Atlantaigh Fhiáin) is a tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) driving route passes through nine counties and three provinces, s ...

coastal driving, cycling and walking route.

Historical features

Nearby is the Ballycrovane

Ogham Ogham (Modern Irish: ; mga, ogum, ogom, later mga, ogam, label=none ) is an Early Medieval alphabet used primarily to write the early Irish language (in the "orthodox" inscriptions, 4th to 6th centuries AD), and later the Old Irish langua ...

stone, the tallest known, standing high and bearing the inscription 'MAQI DECCEDDAS AVI TURANIAS' which translates as "Mac Deich Uí Turainn" or "son of Deich the descendant of Turainn". About 2 km to the southwest is a ruined stone circle, sometimes Coulagh Stone Circle, and to the northeast, in the

Ardgroom Ardgroom () is a village on the Beara peninsula in County Cork, Ireland. Its name refers to two gravelly hills deposited by a glacier, Dromárd and Drombeg. It lies to the north north west of Glenbeg Lough, overlooking the Kenmare River estuary. ...

area, are two stone circles, one in good condition, one a remnant.

Amenities

Eyeries is served by a Roman Catholic church, built 1823-1825, and named for

Saint Kentigern Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this s ...

. There is also a playground near the village centre, and another off the coast road to the southwest. ''Pairc na hAorai'', at the northern end of the village, is the home ground of Urhan GAA, named for a townland 3 kilometres southwest of Eyeries. There is a local Tidy Towns group, which has overseen efforts resulting in several awards in the annual Tidy Towns Competition, as well as the Best-Kept Village and Overall Winner awards in the all-island Best-Kept Places competition in 2012.

Economy and culture

The village has a range of holiday accommodation businesses, a post office and grocery store, a general store with a petrol pump, two pubs, one of which serves food, and a cafe, and a plant nursery. On its outskirts, opposite the graveyard at Cappaneil, is the

Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat Anam Cara Writer's and Artist's Retreat is a project in the village of Eyeries, County Cork, Ireland, which provides accommodation and a supportive environment for writers and other creative workers to develop their ideas. It was founded in 199 ...

which has hosted hundreds of writers and artists since around 2000. A little further from the village centre is the Milleens Cheese operation, based on the farm, belonging to the Steele family, from which Ireland's first craft cheese came. Eyeries was the location for the shooting of the film ''The Purple Taxi'' (also ''Le Taxi Mauve'', 1977) starring

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz; May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, choreographer, actor, and singer. He is often called the greatest dancer in Hollywood film history. Astaire's career in stage, film, and tele ...

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov ; 16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, filmmaker and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits ...

, and

Charlotte Rampling Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model. She was cast in the role ...

, and also the 1998 TV series (from a

Deirdre Purcell Deirdre Purcell (born Dublin 1945) is an Irish author. Purcell is a former Abbey Theatre actress, who has played as Christine opposite Donal McCann in '' Drama at Inish'', Miss Frost in the stage adaptation of ''The Ginger Man'', and Pegeen Mike ...

novel), ''Falling for a Dancer''.

Notable people

Alex Barclay Yve Williams, née Morris, who writes under the name Alex Barclay (born Bayside, Dublin, Ireland in 1974), is an Irish journalist and crime writer. Life Early life Morris was born in Bayside, Dublin, and attended Bayside National School follow ...

, crime fiction writer * Sue Booth-Forbes, literary and creative coach * Veronica Steele, first modern Irish artisan cheesemaker

References

External links

Beara Tourism websiteBeara Information Resource site
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Cork Beara peninsula