Tarbert () is a village in the north of

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 ...

, with woodland to the south and the

Shannon estuary The Shannon Estuary in Ireland () 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 the south. Th ...

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

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

before turning inland at Tarbert towards

Listowel Listowel ( ; , ) 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 4,794 according to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the third large ...

. 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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

) to Killimer in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

Tarbert Island

The nearby island is linked to the mainland by a short

isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

. There is a car ferry service from the island to the town of Killimer in

. 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 lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

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 Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

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 in 1553 as Bridewell Hospital for use as a ...

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

. 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 The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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 () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church 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 Killarne ...

. 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; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

(GAA) club, Tarbert GAA, is based in Shannon Park in the village.

Notable people

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