Durrus () is a village and

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 ...

West Cork West Cork () is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbere, Clonakilty, Du ...

in Ireland. It is situated from

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula i ...

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 ...

, at the head of the

Sheep's Head Sheep's Head, also known as Muntervary (), is the headland at the end of the Sheep's Head peninsula situated between Bantry Bay and Dunmanus Bay in County Cork, Ireland. The peninsula is popular with walkers, and the Sheep's Head Way is a ...

and the

Mizen Head Mizen Head () is traditionally regarded as the most southerly point of mainland Ireland although Brow Head is the actual southernmost point. It is at the end of the Mizen Peninsula in the district of Carbery in County Cork. Geography Mizen ...

peninsulas. Durrus is on 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 ...

driving route which spans the Irish coastline from the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork. A number of public gardens have been established in the area, including 'Kilravock' and 'Cois Abhann'.

Name

Durrus was known in mid-19th century as both Four Mile Water (after the nearby river) and Carrigboi (from ''Carraig Bhuí'', the Irish for ''Yellow Rock''). There are a number of variations and derivations given in 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 ...

for the village's name, including ''Dubh Ros'' (black or dark headland) and ''Dúras'' (as used on local road signs).

History

Prehistory

Evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area include a

stone row A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of megalithic standing stones set at intervals along a common axis or series of axes, usually dating from the later Neolithic or Bronze Age.Power (1997), p.23 Rows may be individual or groupe ...

at Moulinward and a

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...

at Dunbeacon (both dated to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

– 600 BC). There are also

standing stone A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...

s (gallauns) at Ballycomane, Kealties, and Parkana. The

Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones The Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones are a pair of standing stones forming a stone row and National Monument located in County Cork, Ireland. Location Coolcoulaghta Standing Stones stand in a field southwest of Durrus. History The stones pro ...

stand in a field approximately southwest of Durrus. There are a number of Iron Age

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

s in the townlands of Ballycomane, Brahalish, Clonee, Drumtahaneen, Dunbeacon, Gortyalassa, Kealties, and Rushineska.

Built heritage

The village is the location of ''Cool na Long'' castle, a

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...

built by the McCarthy (Muclagh) family in the 17th century. The present layout of the village is based on works undertaken by the owners of the Bandon estate when the lease of Rev. Evanson's interest expired in 1854. Around this time a manor court for debt recovery was held once a month, with petty sessions once a fortnight. The former courthouse is still standing. St James' Church was built in 1792, with a number of later 18th-century additions. The local

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church was built in 1900.

Geography

The

of Durrus has an area of approximately and contains 28

townlands A townland (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Outer Hebrides, Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Middle Ages, medieval Gael ...

. The Durrus River flows through the village and into Dunmanus Bay. The bay, and village lie at the head of the

and

peninsulas.

Sport and community

Local sports clubs include Muintir Bháire GAA, a

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 ...

club which competes in the Carbery division. Durrus FC fields teams in the West Cork Soccer League. The Durrus Festival involves sports, family and entertainment events, and typically takes place during July.

Notable people

* Laura Geraldine Lennox (1883–1958), born in Durrus,

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

in London, and a volunteer in Paris during the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. * Sean Hurley (1887–1961),

Sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

born in Durrus. * J. G. Farrell (1935–1979), English novelist who is buried in the cemetery of St James' Church, Durrus * Seán Levis (born 1981),

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who played with the

Cork senior football team The Cork county football team represents Cork in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Sen ...

Bibliography

* ''Lewis Cork'', introduced by Tim Cadogan, The Collins Press (Original 1837), 1998 . * '' The Cole Family of West Carbery ''(ref: Coles Blaires Cove), Rev. Richard Lee Cole, M.A. B.D. Published privately Belfast 1943 and on Cole family genealogy site internet. * Francis Humphries: ''History Of St. James Church and Parish'', Forum Publications 1992 *''BHAS Journal'' vol 2 p. 106–119, townlands Donal Fitzgerald ISSN 0791-6612 * ''Archaeological Inventory of

, Vol 1

, Office of Public Works, 1992 * ''Níl aon leabhairín mar do Mheabhar-chinn fhéin''. Eilís Uí Bhriain (Native of Durrus), A Collection of Old Irish Truisms and seasonal seanfhocail, ,

References

External links

Welcome to Durrus
(archived)
Durrus Farmhouse Cheese

Kilravock Gardens

Carraig Abhainn Gardens
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Cork Civil parishes of County Cork