The old Irish name for Bantry is Beanntraige. The name came from a son of Conor MacNessa called Beannt. Conor MacNessa was one of the kings of Ireland at the time of Christ. The ending 'raige' in the name means the people or territory of "Beannt".

Bantry Bay is one of the finest and safest harbours in Europe and is situated in a strategic position on the edge of the Atlantic ocean. Being very deep with few dangerous rocks or sand banks and sheltered from most winds by the mountains which surround it, from earliest times it has been used as a haven by fishermen and merchant ships. For centuries the fleets of England, Spain, France & Holland fished in the bay, paying harbour dues and fishing tax to the O'Sullivan Clan who controlled the bay. From Bantry ships sailed loaded with recruits for the French, Spanish, Austrian & Dutch armies.

According to many ancient Irish books such as, the Book of Lacan, Keating, Leabhar Gabhala and the Annals of the Four Masters the first to inhabit Ireland arrived in Bantry Bay forty years before the deluge. Cesaire (a niece of Noah) with 150 handmaidens and 3 men are said to have landed at Donemark in the parish of Kilmocomogue, barony of Bantry.

In March 1689 a French fleet sailed into Bantry Bay with 7000 soldiers, arms, ammunition and money for James II in his war with William of Orange. Many of the soldiers fought and died at the battles of Derry and the Boyne. As the French sailed down Bantry Bay returning to France an English fleet, under Admiral Herbert, entered the bay searching for them. In the battle which followed the French out manoeuvered the English and made their escape. Many ships were badly damaged and a number from each side were killed. Both sides claimed victory! In 1697 troops of William of Orange were landed in Bantry.

On 15th December 1796 Bantry once again became the destination of a French Fleet. 43 ships and 15,000 men set sail from Brest in support of the Irish patriot, Wolfe Tone. Tone, a founder member of the United Irishmen, was determined to establish an Irish Republic by armed rebellion. Easterly storms off the Irish coast dispersed the fleet and while some succeeded in anchoring in Bantry Bay, most were scattered in the Atlantic. On 27th January 1797 the order was given to abandon the attempted invasion and the few remaining ships in the bay that were seaworthy sailed for France. One ships longboat was left behind on Bere Island and stored in Bantry house until the 1940’s, replicas of which are now used worldwide for training traditional seamanship skills to young people.

In the early 1800's Bantry prospered. The Napoleonic Wars created a huge demand for all agricultural produce and the Bantry fishing boats employed 1,162 men in 1821 out of a total population of almost 4000. In 1831 the population totalled 4,275 while 10 years later it had dropped to 4.082. It is not known exactly how many died during the Famine years. With the collapse of the fishing industry, mining, milling, hide and butter market, together with the mass exodus of emigrants to the States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand the population dropped drastically to about 1200.

From the turn of the present century Bantry as a rural town just managed to survive especially through the Wars even-though Bantry Bay was the base for the Atlantic British Fleet and the resulting commerce it generated. After WW2 the town fell into further decline and most of the young people immigrated to foreign parts to find work. The notorious Black Fifties was a time of mass emigrations. With the upturn of the Irish economy in the early '60's a number of small industries were established in Bantry and with the gradual improvements in the local economy Bantry began to revive itself.

In 1969, a fleet of the largest ships ever build made Bantry its regular port of call. The Gulf Oil Co. established a Crude Oil Tank Farm on Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay. The giant tankers brought the crude oil from Kuwait to Bantry via the Cape of Good Hope for trans-shipment to European refineries in smaller tankers. Bantry became a boom town with good jobs available locally. This prosperity was to be short lived when ten years later in January 1979 the Motor Tanker Betelgeuse exploded killing fifty people including seven local men. The terminal was subsequently closed with the loss of some 250 jobs. The ‘Whiddy Island disaster’ as it became known locally was a serious blow to the economy and to the moral of the town.

Since the early 1980’s to date mari-culture of mussels has become a big industry in the bay and Bantry has become known as the home of Irish mussels.
The oil terminal on Whiddy began operating in the late  1990’s, not to the same scale as decades before, but is providing local employment.

Bantry is still  a busy market town that has many small industries and in recent years tourism is playing a more important role in the local economy.

This is a very brief account of our history. There are other sites with more information on our web links page.

The Bantry Heritage Trail Route

The start of Heritage Trail can be found on the raised area of Wolfe Tone Square near St Brendan’s Statue. From here you can see the road to the old railway pier. The car park by the harbour wall was reclaimed from the sea as recently as the late 1990’s. Refer to the town map to locate the site of each display area. Also indicated are the Tourist Information boards that provide additional information for the visitor to Bantry.

The second display is towards the town end of Wolfe Tone Square.
If you look to your left you will see the Church of St Brendan the Navigator; from the church to the corner is the site of the old ‘fish palaces’, now long gone, but which once occupied most of that area. You will find the display board on the pavement at the left of the square, not far from the French Anchor. Here you can read a biography of Theobold Wolfe Tone who gives his name to the square. The third display is across the road at the Old Courthouse, now the Tourist Information Office. The display is on the pavement opposite the main entrance. On the wall of the Old Courthouse are several
commemorative plaques dedicated to Bantry patriots. From here the trail takes you around the town to various sites of interest. Each display board directs you to the next.

Another site of interest is that of the Kilnaruane Stone.Its location is signposted and is easily accessible to visitors. It is situated in a field just off the ‘Rope Walk’, a road circulating behind the town.