Dursey Island ( or ') lies at the southwestern tip of the

Beara Peninsula Beara () or the Beara Peninsula is a peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland, bounded between the Kenmare River (which is actually a bay) to the north side and Bantry Bay to the south. It contains two mountain ranges running down its ce ...

in the west of

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Dursey Island is 6.5 kilometres long and 1.5 kilometres wide. The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow stretch of water, Dursey Sound, which has a very strong

tidal race Tidal race or tidal rapid is a natural occurrence whereby a fast-moving tide passes through a constriction, resulting in the formation of waves, eddies and hazardous currents. The constriction can be a passage where the sides narrow, for example ...

, with the submerged Flag Rock close to the centre of the channel. The island has just three or so permanent residents, and is connected to the mainland by Ireland's only cable car. The cable car system, which was closed for maintenance during 2022, was reopened in mid-2023 following replacement or refurbishment of its towers, tracks and related infrastructure. Dursey has no shops, pubs or restaurants. At one point there was a post office on the island; this has since closed.

Geography and fauna

The

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 ...

s on the island are Ballynacallagh, Kilmichael, and Tilickafinna. There are three main peaks, the highest being . The promontories and rocks off Dursey include:

Bull Rock

Off the western point of the island are three rocks: Bull Rock, Cow Rock and Calf Rock. Bull Rock Lighthouse, which stands on Bull Rock, was built in 1888 and automated in March 1991. Bull Rock was inhabited until this time.

Calf Rock

A staffed lighthouse on Calf Rock was destroyed in a storm in 1881 and its remains can still be seen.

Cow Rock

Cow Rock is home to a number of nesting colonies of seabirds.

Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s and

basking sharks The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sharks reach ...

are sometimes seen in the sea off the island.

History

Prehistoric sites have been surveyed on the island, including examples of

bullaun A bullaun (; from a word cognate with "bowl" and French ''bol'') is the term used for the depression in a stone which is often water filled. Natural rounded boulders or pebbles may sit in the bullaun. The size of the bullaun is highly variable ...

and cup-marked stones in Ballynacallagh, a prehistoric hut site at Killowen, and a radial stone enclosure at Maughanaclea. More prominent archaeological sites are visible at Ballynacallagh, where there is a ruined monastic church and graveyard, and at the site of a castle on Oileán Beag ("Small Island"). In 1602 this castle site was a garrison of the O'Sullivan Beare family. It was destroyed (along with

Dunboy Castle Dunboy Castle () is a ruined 15th-century castle on the Beara Peninsula in south-west Ireland near the town of Castletownbere. The castle's tower house and bawn were destroyed in the 1602 Siege of Dunboy, though its ruins remain open to the ...

) during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

. Philip O'Sullivan Beare claimed that all of the occupants of the castle were killed by a force under the command of George Carew in the Dursey massacre. The 300 islanders were killed; Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare gathered his people from across Cork and set off to take shelter with the O'Rourkes of Leitrim. Of the 1,000 that set off, 35 survived to reach the O'Rourkes after the convoy was repeatedly attacked. Little evidence of the castle site remains. On the highest point on the island, at Tilickafinna, is a signal tower dating to the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. This narrow rectangular tower had two storeys over a basement, with each storey supported by vaulted stonework. The tower has been in ruin since the mid-19th century. During

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 ...

a whitewashed sign saying ''

Éire ( , ) is the Irish language name for "Ireland". Like its English counterpart, the term is used for both the island of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the sovereign state that governs 85% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinc ...

'' was built and painted close to the signal tower to indicate to pilots that they were overflying neutral Ireland. In July 1943 a Luftwaffe

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

crashed in fog on Crow Head near Dursey, killing all crew.

Tourism

The island is popular with day-trippers and walkers during the summer months. A waymarked section of the Beara Way loops around the island. Dursey Island's Beara Way walk marks the beginning of Europe's

E8 European long distance path The E8 European long distance path or E8 path is one of the European long-distance paths, leading 4,700 km (2,920 miles) across Europe, from Cork in Ireland to Bulgaria. Route After Ireland it crosses the Irish Sea into Wales and then int ...

, which crosses Europe, ending in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Spanning Dursey Sound, the

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

is Ireland's only cable car, and one of the few cable cars that cross the sea in Europe. Used by both tourists and the local population, its towers and tracks were replaced in refurbishment works undertaken during 2022 and early 2023. Dursey Sound is also one of the "signature discovery points" along the

Wild Atlantic Way The Wild Atlantic Way () is a Scenic route, tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) driving route passes through nine Counties of Ireland, counties and three Provinces ...

, a coastal touring route that stretches along Ireland's Atlantic coastline. Dursey has no shops, pubs or restaurants, but a few holiday homes are rented on the island.

Gallery

File:Ruined church, Dursey Island. - geograph.org.uk - 282370.jpg, Ecclesiastical ruins and graveyard at Ballynacallagh File:Crashed ju88 dursey island.JPG,

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one of ...

memorial sign on the mainland next to Dursey cable car File:Signal Tower, Dursey Island - geograph.org.uk - 350237.jpg, Napoleonic era signal tower File:Neutrality - Dursey - geograph.org.uk - 283765.jpg, Remains of World War II "EIRE" neutrality sign File:BS4 small.jpg, A

basking shark The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three Planktivore, plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sh ...

feeds in the Dursey Sound.

References

{{County Cork Islands of County Cork Tourist attractions in County Cork Beara peninsula