Ard na Caithne (; meaning "height of the

arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands a ...

/ strawberry tree"), sometimes known in English as Smerwick, is a bay and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

in Ireland. One of the principal bays of

Corca Dhuibhne The Dingle Peninsula (; anglicised as Corkaguiny or Corcaguiny, 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 of ma ...

, it is located at the foot of an Triúr Deirfiúr and Mount Brandon. Bounded by the villages of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Baile na nGall and Ard na Caithne itself, the area is what has been known as the ''Fíor-Ghaeltacht'', or "true

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

" (an area in which the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

is the official and principal language). Ard na Caithne1

Name

The area's official and common

name, ''Ard na Caithne'', means "height of the arbutus" or "height of the strawberry tree". ''Ard na Caithne'' (formerly anglicised as "Ardnaconnia") was also known in Irish as ''Iorras Tuaiscirt'' ("north peninsula") and ''Gall-Iorras'' ("peninsula of the strangers"). The area's former English language name, Smerwick, is believed to derive from the Norse (Viking) words ''smoer'' and ''wick'' meaning "butter harbour".

History

Early Christian history

The early Christian

Gallarus Oratory The Gallarus Oratory () is a chapel on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. It has been presented variously as an early-Christian stone church by antiquary Charles Smith, in 1756; a 12th-century Romanesque church by archaeologist Pete ...

and ''Mainistir Riaisc'' monastic site nearby are central archeological and tourist attractions.

Desmond rebellions

After the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

pronounced that Elizabeth was not Ireland's legitimate queen, James FitzMaurice FitzGerald and other Irish clan chiefs raised their clansmen in what became known as the

Second Desmond Rebellion The Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–1583) was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions in Ireland launched by the FitzGerald Dynasty of County Desmond, Desmond in Munster against English rule. The second rebellion began in ...

. While FitzGerald himself was killed in August 1579, in September 1580, a force of 600 Italian- and Spanish-origin mercenaries, combined with some Irish and English Catholics, landed with arms for several thousand men to support the rebellion. Commanded by Sebastiano di San Giuseppe, and carrying a banner bearing the coat of arms of FitzMaurice, the force occupied ''Dún an Óir'' ('Fort of the Gold') at ''Ard na Caithne''. ''Dún an Óir'' was an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

promontory fort A promontory fort is a fortification, defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the Rampart (fortification), ramparts needed. The oldest kno ...

located near ''Ard na Caithne'' harbour. San Giuseppe's force was met by English and

Irish Royal Army Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (disambiguati ...

forces, precipitating the

Siege of Smerwick The siege of Smerwick took place at Ard na Caithne (the Hill of the Arbutus Tree, known in English as Smerwick) in November 1580, during the Second Desmond Rebellion in Ireland. A force of between 400 and 700 Papal freelance soldiers, mostly ...

. After a 3-day siege, San Giuseppe surrendered to forces under the command of

Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton The Rt Hon. Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey de Wilton, KG (1536–1593), was a baron in the Peerage of England. Lord Grey de Wilton is now largely remembered for his memoir of his father, for participating in the last defence of Calais (1558), a ...

. Except for 20 or 30 officers, the fort's occupants were all executed immediately following their surrender. Charges for these killings were later brought against

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellio ...

; he avoided conviction by pleading that he only followed orders from a superior officer.

Harbour

The harbour where Fitzmaurice's invasion force landed was also the landfall of the returning transatlantic expedition of Sir Martin Frobisher in 1578.

Notable people

In the nearby ''Caisleán an Fheirtéaraigh'' lived the 17th-century

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...

and Irish clan chief Piaras Feiritéar. He was executed by a

Cromwellian Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

general at

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

in 1653, for having led his clansmen in resistance against the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

. Feiritéar continues to be a

folk hero A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...

and his poetry remains popular as

oral literature Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used v ...

among the people of the

Dingle peninsula The Dingle Peninsula (; anglicised as Corkaguiny or Corcaguiny, 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 of m ...

Gallery

File:An Triúr Deirféar1.JPG, View from An Triúr Deirféar File:Slí go Trá Béal Bán.JPG, Entrance to Béal Bán Strand, Ard na Caithne File:Dún an Óir10.JPG, Smerwick massacre memorial File:DúnanÓir30.JPG, Dún an Óir File:Caislean an Fheirtéaraigh1.JPG, Remains of Caisleán an Fheirtéaraigh, castle of the poet Piaras Feiritéar

References

External links

Entry for Smerwick Harbour
Irelandscape.com; archived 28 September 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ard Na Caithne Bays of County Kerry Second Desmond Rebellion