Banna Strand, (

Gaeilge Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...

: Trá na Beannaí) also known as Banna Beach, is situated in Ballyheigue Bay. It is an

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

beach extending from

Ballyheigue Ballyheigue ( ), officially Ballyheige ( - meaning ''Settlement of Tadhg'') is a coastal village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is approximately north of Tralee on the R551. It is a scenic locale which forms part of the Wild Atlantic Way and h ...

Beach at the Blackrock in the North to Barrow Beach at its southern edge, located in County Kerry. It is located approximately 12 km (7 mi) north west of

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

. It features sand dunes along its entire length which rise up to 12 metres (40 ft). The mountains of the

Dingle Peninsula The Dingle Peninsula ( ga, Corca Dhuibhne; anglicised as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point ...

can be seen on the south west horizon. Many residents from Tralee make a trip to Banna Strand on the warmest summer days.

History

Roger Casement

Historically, Banna Strand is associated with

Roger Casement Roger David Casement ( ga, Ruairí Dáithí Mac Easmainn; 1 September 1864 – 3 August 1916), known as Sir Roger Casement, CMG, between 1911 and 1916, was a diplomat and Irish nationalist executed by the United Kingdom for treason during Worl ...

who was captured on 21 April 1916, having landed from a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

. Casement was involved in an attempt to land arms for Irish Republicans from the German vessel the ''

Aud The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island s ...

''. A monument for Casement and another man, Robert Monteith, stands near the dunes with the inscription: ''"At a spot on Banna beach adjacent to here Roger Casement - Humanitarian & Irish revolutionary leader - Robert Monteith & a third man came ashore from a German submarine on Good Friday morning 21 April 1916 in furthering the cause of Irish freedom."'' The mysterious 'third man' was Daniel Julian Bailey, a soldier in the Royal Irish Rifles in the British army who when a POW was recruited (as Daniel Beverley) into the 'Casement Brigade'. The monument was erected in 1966 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the landing. A decision was taken by the 1966 Banna Strand committee to deliberately omit the name of the "third man" from the monument because, following his capture, he turned "King's evidence." The sod was turned, for the construction of the monument, by Florrie Monteith, the daughter of Robert Monteith. Florrie was also the author of a biography of her father that was entitled "The Mystery Man of Banna Strand."

1980s to the present

Horizon Radio, a Kerry radio station from the 1980s, was located in Banna. Banna Beach Hotel was opened nearby by Joe Murphy and in 2002 expanded to Banna Beach Leisure centre. In the 1990s the car parking area was moved to the beach from behind the dunes. Blackrock banna strand kerry ireland

References

External links

From RTÉ Archives
1966 interview with Raimund Weisbach, captain of U19 in 1916.
(Scroll down to ''News: German Seamen Arrive for 1916 Commemoration'') {{coord, 52.3582, N, 9.8368, W, type:landmark_region:IE_scale:50000, display=title Beaches of County Kerry