The History of Eyeries

The villagers of Eyeries take pride in a story that stretches back hundreds of years. Winners of many Tidy Towns awards, Eyeries Village is renowned for the bright, pastel paintwork of its terraced houses, the stunning view of the surrounding hillsides, the sweeping vista of the Beara Peninsula, the always-changing face of Coulagh Bay, the rising swell of the distant Kerry Mountains, and an unbroken horizon that is often painted in stunning sunsets.
Eyeries is remarkable: one of the most south-westerly villages in Ireland, it is situated on a bluff that overlooks Coulagh Bay and beyond that, the Atlantic Ocean. Those who live or visit here can spend hours listening to the surf, taking in the gentle smell of the ocean, walking to the sandy and rocky beaches only minutes away, or just simply relaxing in the tranquillity and joy that is to be found here.
Eyeries (historically spelt Irees or Iries, from the Irish: na hAoraí) is a village and townland on the Beara Peninsula in County Cork, Ireland overlooking Coulagh Bay and the mouth of the Kenmare River in the south-west. It lies at the base of Maulin which, at 2,044 feet (623 m), is the highest peak in the Slieve Miskish mountain range that forms part of the backbone of the peninsula.
Hundreds of years ago, Eyeries was known as Kilcatherine Parish, called after a cleric named Caitighearn who was brought from France by the Beara Luingseachain in the middle of the 3rd century. To quote in Gaelic the tradition handed down from generation to generation of the Gaelic speakers of the parish: "I lar treas aoise thainig se". So Christianity existed in this parish long before the advent of St. Patrick.

We wiped out their supply of gloves! What a joy
to have dry gloves!

Jane even bought a local football club hat!

Peat for sale at Sullivan's

The Hag of Beara

Legend has it that this rock which rises above Coulagh Bay represents the fossilized remains of the face of the Cailleach Beara awaiting her husband Manannan, God of the Sea, to return to her. Her presence still haunts visitors who leave coins, trinkets and all sorts of other small offerings, on and around the rock. Other legends say that the Hag stole a Bible from the Catholic cleric Caitighearn. In order to recover his revered book of God, Caitighearn struck the Hag with his staff, instantly turning her to stone. Whatever legend you believe in, the Hag of Beara in many ways has come to represent Mna na hEireann – the women of Ireland – due to her power, fertility, and strength.

The Hag of Beara Website Photo

The British Coast Guard Station

The Coast Guard Station, built by the British, was attacked and burned in 1920. Legend has it that a local woman informed the local IRA that a cache of rifles and other armaments were kept there. The IRA decided to neutralise the threat. And that they did. The old Coast Guard station is now a ruin, but visitors can still see the rooms in which the members of the British Coast Guard lived and slept; the Coulagh Bay views that they constantly surveyed; and the local stone constructed Boat House in which they protected their Life Boat.
http://www.eyeries.ie/index.php