Bantry

The town of Bantry ( Irish- Gaelic: Beanntraí ) lies in the southwest of Ireland, County Cork to Bantry Bay. It has 3,309 inhabitants ( 2006).

The city is an important commercial center for the region. In addition to tourism, fishing is the second pillar. In particular, mussels play an important role. Every year in May, there is a hard shell.

The center of Bantry 's Wolfe Tone Square. It commemorates Theobald Wolfe Tone, who was trying to land at Bantry Bay to end British rule in Ireland as a member of a French invasion fleet, in December, 1796. However, it was only about a third of the original fleet to get to the bay. There prevented adverse weather conditions, a landing of troops, so that the company was a failure. A decline in the storm frigate is to date on the bottom of the bay.

The main attraction of the town is Bantry House. The Classicist building belongs since 1750 to the White family, the former Earls of Bantry, and is accessible to the public since 1946. In the former stables is an exhibition about the failed French landing companies located.

At the upstream Whiddy Iceland are the remains of a large oil terminals in the Gulf Oil Company. On January 8, 1979, the tanker Betelgeuse exploded there. In the accident 50 people were killed. The oil port was then closed and about 250 employees lost their jobs. Although the storage tanks remained intact, the impact on the environment were considerable. Today the tanks as oil temporary storage returned to service (as of 2007 ). Currently working between 20 and 100 people on Whiddy Iceland.