Overlooking Bantry Bay in the heart of West Cork, Bantry is a thriving market town situated at the head of Bantry Bay and surrounded by some of Ireland's most stunning country side with drives and walks that will take your breath away. With a fine raised plaza in its main square over-looking the harbour the town has a wide variety of shops, bars, coffee shops and restaurants in addition to a three screen cinema, tourist office, museum and library. The town is also host to the Friday market which sees a wide variety of market stalls selling West Cork’s finest local foods, antiques, art, crafts and livestock.

The majestic Bantry House, home since 1739 to the White family, the former Earl of Bantry, overlooks the harbour with its beautiful gardens reaching down towards the shore where one can enjoy the spectacular views of the Caha Mountains across the bay.

As with many areas on Ireland's south-west coast, Bantry claims an ancient connection to the sixth century saint, Breandán (Naomh Bréanainn) the Navigator. In Irish lore Saint Breandán was the first person to discover America.

The town is an important economic centre to the region. Apart from tourism, fishing is one of the main industries.   Mussels in particular are harvested in the area.

As one of the larger towns in West Cork with a population of about 4000 people and a catchment area of about 12000 people, it is a busy community with plenty going on all year round.

Bantry is also host to the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Masters of Tradition festival, West Cork Literary festival, Bay Run Half Marathon, and Bantry BBQ festival.

Getting To Bantry

In addition to your local travel agents you can contact the following for your holiday information;

The Irish Tourism Offices at;

New York: 343 Park Avenue, NY 10154; Tel: 212 4180800.
London: 150 New Bond St, London W1Y OAQ; Tel: 171 5180800
Sydney: 5th Level, 36 Carrington St, NSW 2000; Tel: 02 9299 6177

To contact this local area directly;

Cork: Cork/Kerry Tourism, Grand Parade, Cork. Tel: +353 (0)21 273251
Skibbereen: Cork/Kerry Tourism, North St., Skibbereen. Tel: +353 (0)28 21766
Bantry: Bantry Tourist Office, Tel: +353 (0)27 50229

The most useful maps for the area are;

West Cork Map 24 (old series) - ordnance survey
Ireland South Sheet No 4 - ordnance survey
Discovery Series no's 84, 85, 88 & 89 - ordnance survey

Bantry is located approximately 90 kilometers west of Cork City

The majority of the petrol/gas stations offer leaded, unleaded, diesel and gas. In fact, there is a filling station nearly every 15 k in the region. The main car repair shops are located in the town or nearby. Car rental and taxi services are available locally.

The main airport feeding this region is at Cork (90 km) or one hour's drive. Shannon Airport is about a three hour drive.

The main ferryports are at Cork Harbour (1.5 hours from Bantry) and Rosslare (4 hours drive)

Cork City is served by a mainline rail terminal.
There is no train connection to Bantry. There is a regular bus service from Cork (Bus Aras) at Parnell Square, with a special express service during the summer months, connecting to Kenmare and Killarney.

Contact George Plant Minibus & Taxi Services providing private transport services for the West Cork/South East Kerry Region +353 (0)27 50654 / +353 (0)86 2398123