St. Finian's Bay (or St. Finan’s Bay, ga, Bá Fhíonáin) is an exposed bay on the Atlantic coast of

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 ...

, Ireland.

Location

St. Finian's Bay is on the Atlantic coast of

, Ireland. The bay lies between Puffin Island to the north and Ducalla Head to the south. It is crescent shaped, with headlands at each end. Inland of the bay there are gently sloping grassy hills. Puffin Island is very close to the coast, while the Skellig Islands (

Skellig Michael Skellig Michael ( ga, Sceilg Mhichíl ), also called Great Skellig ( ga, link=no, Sceilig Mhór ), is a twin-pinnacled crag west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The island is named after the archangel Michael, with "Skellig ...

and

Little Skellig Little Skellig (Irish: ''Sceilig Bheag'') is an unhabitable island in the Atlantic Ocean, 11 km south-west of Valentia Island in County Kerry, Ireland. It is small than Skellig Michael (54 acres)) its twin island. The two islands rose c. ...

) can be seen further out to sea. The bay is between the villages of

Portmagee Portmagee () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. The village is located on the Iveragh peninsula south of Valentia Island, and is known locally as 'the ferry', in reference to its purpose as a crossing point to the island. Access to Valentia I ...

and

Ballinskelligs Ballinskelligs, officially (Irish for "town (townland) of the craggy rock"), is a townland in the civil parish of Prior, County Kerry, Ireland. It may also refer to the wider district around the townland. It is located in the south-west of the ...

on the Skellig Ring Drive. The pier in St. Finian’s Bay is used by divers as a launching point for divers exploring the Skellig Rocks. Surfers use Glen's beach in the bay.

Name

The bay is named after Saint

Finan Cam Finan Cam (or Fionan, Finian), Abbot of Kinnity was an early Irish saint associated with County Kerry, Ireland, who lived in the 6th century AD, and possibly the 7th century. To distinguish him from other saints of the same name the appellation of ...

. He may well have been the first founder of the oratory on

, directly opposite St. Finian's Bay. When the Danes were raiding Ireland the monastery was moved to the mainland, and as of 1890 its dilapidated walls could still be seen in the sheltered corner at the head of St. Finian's Bay.

Archaeology

Traces of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

occupation have been found near the bay. At Rathkerin there are the remains of an earth fort, and there are many stone graves and

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northw ...

s. The Kilaboona Oratory is an early Christian site. There is a well dedicated to Saint Buaine to the west of the settlement. The Killemlagh Church, an Irish Romanesque building that is now ruined, was built on the site of Saint Finan's monastery in the 12th or 13th century. A parish church was attached to it later. The Pagan's Grave is an enclosure of standing stones to the south of the church.

Notes

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT: Bays of County Kerry