 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2012) |
Native name: Beiginis | |
|---|---|
 Beginish from the Slate quarry (Valentia Harbour) | |
  Beginish Island | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Atlantic Ocean |
| Coordinates | 51°56′N10°18′W / 51.933°N 10.300°W |
| Administration | |
| Province | Munster |
| County | Kerry |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Beginish (from Irish Beiginis, meaning 'small island') [1] is an island in Valentia Harbour, in south west Kerry Kerry, Ireland. [2]
Dominating the northern skyline is Doulus Head and Killelan mountain, with Valentia island to the south and Ballycarbery to the east. The north west of the island faces out to the Atlantic ocean and Dingle bay. Surrounding Beginish are other small islands, including Lamb Island to the north and Church Island to the east. Church Island is notable for having the remains of a monastic settlement with an oratory and hut, holy well and shrine. On the northern edge of the island is a series of columnar basalt cliffs which have a hexagonal shape formed in a similar manner to the famous Giant's Causeway.
There are a small number of holiday homes on the island which are used seasonally. The island is used for sheep farming and some small scale forestry, and by tourists in the summer months who use the island's beaches for recreational purposes.
The island has numerous archaeological sites. A Viking settlement was occupied between the 9th and 12th centuries, [3] which consisted of a group of 8 houses, 15 cairns with a network of small fields enclosed by low stone walls and numerous middens. This site was excavated by archaeologist M. J. O'Kelly in the 1950s, with further analysis conducted by John Sheehan more recently.
The main dwelling currently visible was dated to the 11th century AD and is of Scandinavian-Irish origin. This circular building (6.75m in diameter) has a sunken floor 1.5 m below the surface with walls of dry masonry. It was originally covered with a thatched roof, the beams of which were held by holes in the wall. The 1.85 m long, 0.45 m wide and 0.1 m thick lintel is made of sandstone. A small cross and a rune inscription are carved into its surface, which says: "Verr erected this stone and Munulfr carved the runes". This lintel is now in the Cork Public Museum.
Occupying the highest point on the western end of the island is a block hut known locally as "Pilots lookout". This which was used in the 19th and early 20th century to spot ships coming into Dingle bay which may have required piloting into Valentia harbour.
Beginish Island is currently uninhabited. The last permanent residents were two elderly brothers who left the island in the 1990s. Beginish once hosted numerous families living from farming and fishing, most notably the O'Connell, Casey and McCrohan families.
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| Source: "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year" . Retrieved 10 October 2016. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beginish is host to a seal colony located in a cove on the southern part of the island named Casey's landing, and has abundant bird and sea life.
The family of legendary Kerry Gaelic footballer Mick O'Connell came from Beginish.
An annual swim of approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) takes place intermittently around the island. [4] [5]
County Kerry is a county in Ireland. It is in the Southern Region and the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the county was 156,458 at the 2022 census.
Tralee 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 County Kerry. The town's population was 26,079 as of the 2022 census, making it the 15th largest urban settlement in Ireland. Tralee is known for the Rose of Tralee International Festival, which has been held annually in August since 1959.
Skellig Michael, also called Great Skellig, is a twin-pinnacled crag 11.6 kilometres (7.2 mi) west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The island is named after the archangel Michael, with "Skellig" derived from the Irish language word sceilig, meaning a splinter of stone. Its twin island, Little Skellig, is smaller and inaccessible. The two islands rose c. 374–360 million years ago during a period of mountain formation, along with the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range. Later, they were separated from the mainland by rising water levels.
Dingle is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about 50 kilometres (30 mi) southwest of Tralee and 71 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Killarney. Principal industries in the town are tourism, fishing and agriculture: Dingle Mart serves the surrounding countryside.
The Gallarus Oratory (Irish: Séipéilín Ghallarais, Gallarus being interpreted as either 'rocky headland' or 'house or shelter for foreigner ' 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 Peter Harbison in 1970; a shelter for pilgrims by the same in 1994. The local tradition prevalent at the time of Charles Smith attributed it to one Griffith More, being a funerary chapel built by him or his family at their burial place.
A clochán or beehive hut is a dry-stone hut with a corbelled roof, commonly associated with the south-western Irish seaboard. The precise construction date of most of these structures is unknown with the buildings belonging to a long-established Celtic tradition, though there is at present no direct evidence to date the surviving examples before c. 700 CE. Some associated with religious sites may be pre-Romanesque, some consider that the most fully intact structures date after the 12th century or later. It is where monks lived.
The Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of Ireland and arguably Europe.
Valentia Island is one of Ireland's most westerly points. It lies off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest of County Kerry. It is linked to the mainland by the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge at Portmagee. A car ferry also departs from Reenard Point to Knightstown, the island's main settlement, from April to October. Another, smaller village named Chapeltown sits at roughly the midpoint of the island, three kilometres from the bridge. Valentia Island's permanent population is 658. It is about 11 kilometres long by almost three kilometres wide, making it the fifth-biggest island off the Irish coast.
The Ring of Kerry is a 179-kilometre-long (111-mile) circular tourist route in County Kerry, south-western Ireland. Clockwise from Killarney it follows the N71 to Kenmare, then the N70 around the Iveragh Peninsula to Killorglin – passing through Sneem, Waterville, Cahersiveen, and Glenbeigh – before returning to Killarney via the N72.
The Iveragh Peninsula is located in County Kerry in Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil, its highest mountain, is also the highest peak in Ireland.
Portmagee is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. The village is located on the Iveragh peninsula south of Valentia Island, and is known locally as 'the ferry', in reference to its purpose as a crossing point to the island. Access to Valentia Island is now via the Maurice O'Neill Memorial Bridge from Portmagee, which was built in 1970 and named in memory of a member of the IRA executed in 1942 for his part in the shooting dead of Detective George Mordaunt in Dublin.
Michael O'Connell is an Irish former Gaelic footballer. Throughout his 25-year club career, he played for Young Islanders, winning seven South Kerry Championship titles during a golden age for the club; he also played for divisional side South Kerry, and experienced success in the County Championship. At inter-county level, he captained Kerry to win the 1959 All-Ireland Championship; he later claimed a further three All-Ireland medals, as well as Munster Championship and National League successes.
Castlegregory is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated on the north side of the Dingle Peninsula, halfway between Tralee and Dingle. As of the 2016 census, Castlegregory had a population of 250.
Tralee Bay is located in on the west coast of County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated between Kerry Head on the north side and the Maharees on the west and extends eastwards as far as the bridge at Blennerville. Several small rivers feed into the bay through the town of Tralee. Villages around the bay include; Ballyheigue, Fenit, Kilfinora, Spa, Blennerville, Camp and Castlegregory.
Valentia Young Islanders are a Gaelic Athletic Association club from Valentia Island, South County Kerry, Ireland. They play in Division 4 of the county league and in the Kerry Novice Football Championship. The club's most recent success has been winning the Munster Junior football championship final after beating Kildimo-Pallaskenry 12 points to 1-8 on 25 January 2015.
Dunbeg Fort is a promontory fort built in the Iron Age near the modern village of Ventry in County Kerry, Ireland.
Chapeltown is a village on Valentia Island in the south-west of County Kerry. It is the second major settlement on the Island, the other being Knightstown 4 kilometers away. Chapeltown is located in the centre of the Island, approximately 3 kilometers from the bridge which links the island to the mainland at Portmagee.
The Farranfore–Valentia Harbour line was a 39.5 miles (63.6 km) long single-track broad gauge railway line that operated from 1892 to 1960 along Dingle Bay's southern shore in Ireland. It was the most westerly railway in Europe.
The Beginish house is a stone house and National Monument associated with the Viking period, located in County Kerry, Ireland.
Church Island is a medieval Christian monastery and National Monument located in Valentia Harbour, Ireland.
