Goleen () is a small rural village in

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 ...

on the south-western tip of

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 ...

. Farming, tourism and construction work are among the main occupations of the local people.

Location

Goleen is located towards the south-western end of the Mizen Peninsula, in

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbe ...

. The land surrounding the village is unsuitable for farming, being hilly and rocky with limited soil cover. Mizen Head, at the southern tip of the Mizen peninsula, about five miles from the village, is often claimed to be the most southerly point on the island of Ireland, but is in fact the country's most southwesterly point. The distinction of being Ireland's most southerly point belongs to nearby

Brow Head Brow Head ( ga, Ceann Bró) is the most southerly point of mainland Ireland. It is in the rural townland of Mallavogue near Crookhaven in County Cork, Ireland. It is 3.8 km east of Mizen Head at latitude 51.43ºN. History Ptolemy's ''Geo ...

, from where

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italians, Italian inventor and electrical engineering, electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegrap ...

experimented with transatlantic radio signals at the beginning of the 20th century.

Amenities

The village has four

pubs A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, a small shop, and a

petrol station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoline ...

. The town also has a community pitch on which locals play Gaelic football and soccer. In the sports hall beside the pitch is a table tennis club. The village has a large

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church; there is a smaller

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

church situated just outside the village but this has been deconsecrated and is the site for a sail-maker. In 1852, shortly after the

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

, the parish priest John Foley started to build a new parish church with the help of donations by Irish emigrants. The church was erected in the

Neo-Gothic style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

with a cruciform aisleless ground plan, four bays, and a triplet window in the chancel behind the high altar. Bishop William Delaney of the

diocese of Cork The Diocese of Cork was established in the seventh century. The diocese of Cork was one of the twenty-four dioceses established at the Synod of Rathbreasail on an ancient bishopric founded by Saint Finbarr in the sixth-century. On 30 July 1326, P ...

consecrated the church on 11 October 1854.

Transport

Bus Éireann run the 237 bus service from

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city' ...

to Goleen.

References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Cork Tourist attractions in County Cork