Ballycotton () is a coastal 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 a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, situated about east of

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's ...

. It is a fishing village that sits on a rocky ledge overlooking Ballycotton Bay and has a sandy beach that stretches for about east to Knockadoon Head. The current village is actually a re-settlement of an older village which is now entirely underwater. Ballycotton experiences severe

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwar ...

with metres of land crumbling into the sea every few years. It is a site of international research interest on coastal erosion.

Lifeboat

The

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

(RNLI) lifeboat station was established in 1858, although medals had been awarded for rescues that took place in 1826 and 1829. The most famous rescue by the Ballycotton lifeboat took place in 1936. An RNLI Medal in Gold was awarded to Coxswain Patrick Sliney, with Silver Medals to Second Coxswain John Lane Walsh and Motor Mechanic Thomas Sliney, and Bronze Medals to Crew Members Michael Coffey Walsh, John Shea Sliney, William Sliney and Thomas Walsh for the service on 11 February when the Daunt Rock lightship broke away from her moorings. The seas were so mountainous that spray was flying over the lantern of the lighthouse high. The lifeboat, was away from the station for 79 hours and at sea for 49 hours; the crew had no food for 25 hours and they only had three hours sleep. The eight crew were rescued after the lifeboat went alongside the vessel more than a dozen times. This was one of the most exhausting and gallant services in the history of the RNLI.

Lighthouse

Situated on the steep sloped Ballycotton Island approximately 2 km from the village, the lighthouse was commissioned in 1851 when the keeper and his family lived on the island and their children rowed to school, weather permitting. By 1899 the four keepers were housed in the town with keepers rotating duty at the lighthouse. In 1975 the light was converted to electricity and it was automated on 28 March 1992 when the lighthouse keepers were withdrawn.

Amenities and tourism

Ballycotton has a number of

public house 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 wa ...

s. There is a pitch and putt course, tennis and squash courts, and beaches nearby. Ballycotton pier and breakwater are used for fishing, with common catches including mackerel, black sole and plaice. Ballycotton was used as a location for a film called ''

Divine Rapture ''Divine Rapture'' is an uncompleted film that had been cast in 1995 with Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, Debra Winger, and John Hurt. Background ''Divine Rapture'' is the story of a set of miracles in a small 1950's Irish community. The small I ...

'' during the summer of 1995. Although the film starred

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...

and

Debra Winger Debra Lynn Wingerhttps://www.pressreader.com/usa/closer-weekly/20200511/282084868951188https://www.discountmags.com/magazine/closer-weekly-may-11-2020-digital/in-this-issue/99961 (born May 16, 1955)https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Inter ...

, the production company went bankrupt after just 2 weeks and the movie was never completed. First run in 1977, the annual Ballycotton Road Race attracted runners from around Ireland and abroad to its 10 Mile circuit of country backroads. In October 2017 it was announced that the 2017 event was to be the last. The local area is home to a number of artists and craftspeople included woodworkers, painters, potters, writers and musicians who sometimes exhibit at the Stephen Pearce Gallery in

Shanagarry Shanagarry () is a village in east County Cork in Ireland. The village is located near Ireland's south coast, approximately east of Cork, on the R632 regional road. Shanagarry is known for the Ballymaloe Cookery School, in the home and garden ...

. Ballycotton has a 13 km cliff walk which leads westward to Ballytrasna. Wildlife in the area includes seals and dolphins, and whales are sometimes visible from the cliffs in December and January. The nearby beach at Ballynamona is on a wildlife sanctuary and herons, oystercatchers and sandhoppers. It is also possible to spot Peregrine Falcons near the rocky inlets at dawn and dusk.

Ballycotton cross

In 1875 a local antiquarian, Philip T. Gardner, donated the Ballycotton cross (also known as the Ballycottin cross) to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. It is a 9th-century jewelled Celtic cross with a centre glass jewel with an inscription of the Bismillah in

Kufic Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It ...

script which may be interpreted as ''As God wills'', ''In the name of Allah'' or ''We have repented to God''. It is held in the British Museum's brooch collection, and the provenance is: "said to have been found in or near Ballycottin Bog". As an early indicator of possible links between Ireland and early Islam, the cross has been cited in academic papers and histories of Islam's presence in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...

in the late Dark Ages, and on speculative history websites and forums.

References

External links