Bere Island

Today we had a lazy start as we were only going to the other end of Berehaven.
We were heading for Dunboy, a small quite wooded inlet to the west of Castletownbere.
The weather was a bit cloudy in the morning but soon improved to give u a lovely sunny afternoon and evening.

Having got some provisions in Rerrin Village before we left, we decided we’d wait to have lunch at Dunboy.
We motored down Berehaven as it wasn’t worth hoisting sail and the wind was not playing ball anyway.
I played the tour guide as we motored west as I had spent many holidays here.
My mother grew up in Castletownbere and most years it was where we went in the summer.

At 13.35 we dropped our anchors off 'Dunboy House' also know as 'Puxley Manor' which was once owned by the Puxley family who owned and ran the Allihies copper mines.
The house often incorrectly called 'Dunboy Castle' had been burned down in the war of independence but rebuilt in the 2000’s as a hotel but never completely finished inside due to the financial crash.
I used to enjoy playing around the ruins in the 60’s while holidaying in the area and hopefully it will be completed before too long.

After lunch we launched the dinghies and went ashore to have a look around and stretch the legs.
There is now a lovely walk around the headland and there we met a man whose mother was from Cobh, a Mary Jo Walsh. Maybe someone knows of her. It’s a small world.

On the headland is the ruins of O'Sullivan Bere's castle the real 'Dunboy Castle' which was destroyed by the English after the Irish defeat in the Battle of Kinsale.

Back to ‘Second Chance’ for pre-dinner drinks and then home to ‘Eureka’ for our own dinner. We ate while sitting in the cockpit on a lovely calm sunny evening watching the sun doing down. This is the way cruising is meant to be.Read more