Tarbert () is a village in the north 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 ...

, with woodland to the south and the

Shannon estuary The Shannon Estuary ( gle, Inbhear na Sionainne) is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to th ...

to the north. It lies on the N69 coast road that runs along the estuary from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

before turning inland at Tarbert towards

Listowel Listowel ( ; , IPA: �lʲɪsˠˈt̪ˠuəhəlʲ is a heritage market town in County Kerry, Ireland. It is on the River Feale, from the county town, Tralee. The town of Listowel had a population of 4,820 according to the Central Statistics Of ...

. As of the 2022 census, Tarbert village had a population of 546.

Geography

Location

Tarbert is in the historical barony of Iraghticonnor in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Kilnaughtin. Located on the N69 and N67 roads, Tarbert is connected by ferry (across the

) to

Killimer __NOTOC__ Killimer () is a village in County Clare, Ireland, in a civil parish of the same name. It is located on the northern bank of the Shannon and the N67 which passes through the village. Location The village is the northern port of the Kil ...

in County Clare.

Tarbert Island

The nearby island is linked to the mainland by a short isthmus. There is a car ferry service from the island to the town of

in County Clare. This service, operated by Shannon Ferries, provides a link between the N69 in County Kerry and the N67 in County Clare. Inis Cathaigh Moneypoint

Also on the island is a small

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

and an electricity plant, Tarbert Power Station, with four oil-fired turbines and a capacity of 640MW. This plant, opened in 1969, was the site of an explosion in 2003 that killed two workers and seriously injured another. The plant was due to be de-commissioned in 2010, with the loss of 130 jobs. However, the plant was purchased by Spanish power company Endesa in January 2009. As of 2023, the plant was operated by SSE.

Population (Tarbert Island)

Built heritage

Bridewell

Tarbert's

bridewell Bridewell Palace in London was built as a residence of King Henry VIII and was one of his homes early in his reign for eight years. Given to the City of London Corporation by his son King Edward VI for use as an orphanage and place of correc ...

is a former courthouse and prison in the village. Built in 1831, it was used for trying local court cases and for holding prisoners awaiting transfer to the County Jail in Tralee. The jail closed in 1874 but the courthouse continued in use until the 1950s. In 1993, the complex was reopened as a museum and visitor centre.

Tarbert Lighthouse

Tarbert Lighthouse came into operation on 31 March 1834 H.T.L.H. Tarbert Island lighthouse, which is still operational, is a harbour light to guide vessels passing up and down the Shannon estuary. It is built on a tidal rock on the north side of Tarbert Island and a cast iron bridge connects the lighthouse to the shore.

Fort Shannon

Fort Shannon was a coastal artillery fortress, near Tarbert, built by the Irish Army in 1942 to protect the River Shannon against potentially hostile warships during The Emergency (as

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was known in Ireland). It was the only such fortress to have been built by the Irish Government since independence. It was reduced to a care and maintenance basis in 1946 and completely abandoned several years later.

Tarbert House

Tarbert House is a historic country house dating from 1690. It was built by the Leslie family, and is still owned by them.

Amenities

St Mary's Catholic Church is in Tarbert parish in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kerry The Diocese of Kerry ( ga, Deoise Chiarraí) is a Roman Catholic diocese in south-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly. The cathedral church of the diocese is St Mary's Cathedral in ...

. It was built in 1833. There are two schools in the area: Tarbert National School (primary) and Tarbert Comprehensive (secondary). As of 2024, the secondary school had an enrolment of 501, and the national (primary) school had 138 pupils. The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

(GAA) club,

Tarbert GAA Tarbert are a Gaelic Athletic Association Gaelic football club in Tarbert, County Kerry, Ireland. They play in the Kerry Junior Championship, Div 2 County League and Div 1 North Kerry Championship. History The club was founded on Sunday 30 Jul ...

, is based in Shannon Park in the village.

Notable people

Thomas MacGreevy Thomas MacGreevy (born Thomas McGreevy; 26 October 1893 – 16 March 1967) was a pivotal figure in the history of Irish literary modernism. A poet, he was also director of the National Gallery of Ireland from 1950 to 1963 and served on the f ...

(1893–1967), poet, critic and director of the National Gallery of Ireland *

Jennifer Musa Jennifer Musa ( Bridget Jennifer Wren; 11 November 1917 – 12 January 2008) was an Irish-born Pakistani nurse, politician, social worker and the second wife of Qazi Musa. She was often nicknamed the "Queen of Baluchistan" and "Mummy Jenni ...

(1917–2008), Irish-born, Pakistani nurse, politician and social worker

References

External links

Tarbert Community Website

Tarbert Bridewell
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Kerry