Dursey Island (Irish: Oileán Baoi (Island of the Bull in Viking Norse))
is one of the few inhabited islands that lie off the southwest coast of
Ireland. It is situated at the western tip of the Beara Peninsula in
the west of County Cork. Dursey Island is 6.5 km long and 1.5 km wide.
The island is separated from the mainland by a narrow stretch of water
called the Dursey Sound which has a very strong tidal race, with a reef
of rocks in the centre of the channel which is submerged at high tides.
This peaceful island, with only a handful of permanent residents, is
connected to the mainland by Ireland's only cable car. The
island, historically, was made up of 3 villages or 'townlands'. These
are Ballynacallagh, Kilmichael, and Tilickafinna respectively from east
to west on the island. Quite a few of the buildings that comprised these
villages can still be seen today.
Information from http://www.durseyisland.ie/
Information from http://www.durseyisland.ie/
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| Cable Car to Dursey Island |
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| They were performing maintenance when we arrived - The only cable car in Ireland |
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| Maeve, Carol, and Melanie in the cable car. |
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| Ruins with a view |
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A village  |
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| Talking with a farmer on the island. |
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| Yes - we climbed up to this old signal tower! |
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| View in the tower ruins |
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| Peat that has been cut and drying. |
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| You can see imprints of furrows left from potato "lazy beds" from before the potato famine. Lazy bed is a method of arable cultivation. Parallel banks of ridge and furrow are dug by spade although lazy beds have banks that are bigger, up to 2.5m in width, with narrow drainage channels between them. Although it is largely extinct, it is still to be found in parts of the west of Ireland. The method used is normally to lift up sods of peat and apply desalinated seaweed fertilizer to improve the ground. Potatoes were often grown in this way in these regions, until the potato blight caused the potato famine. It was used in southern parts of Britain from the post-Roman period until the post-medieval period, and across much of Ireland and Scotland until the 19th century. (Wikipedia) |
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Maeve showing us plant life on the island. |
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| One of many stiles to come in the days ahead. Some of the rugged scenery. |
