It’s Time to Visit Colin Farrell’s Favourite Place in Ireland
Ever wondered where Oscar-nominated actor Colin Farrell likes to spend his free time?
No need to wonder anymore. The star has recently revealed that a town in West Cork is his favourite place in Ireland and holds a "special place" in his heart.
The Banshees of Inisherin star revealed the name of his most loved location while on The Late Late Show with James Corden ahead of the Oscars which take place this weekend.
You can read more about what he said in this article here, but I’m going to save you time and tell you: it’s Castletownbere, the beautiful town I call my home.
While I’ve written several blog posts about the amazing things to do and see on this spectacular peninsula, I thought it was about time to give you an even better insight.
You’ll see very soon why this town holds a special place in his heart and why it should definitely be on your bucket list in 2023.
Castletown is where I spent most of my childhood. Rainy winters with heavy fog that turned our garden into a secluded world of its own. Beautiful summer days that were spent at the beach or with the ponies, exploring the unique and spectacular landscape of Beara.
Since 2021, I call Castletownbere my home again and I’m delighted about it.
Like I wrote in my blogpost about West Cork, West Cork and Beara are known for their creative community - arts and crafts, storytelling, traditional music and great festivals with delicious food.
Growing up here has made me kind. I was able to develop a strong connection to nature and arts.
People care for each other here. It makes you value the good things in life.
Beara helps you to slow down, to breathe and reconnect with nature.
Where?
Castletownbere is situated on the Beara Peninsula, on the lip of the Bantry Bay, tucked beside the sea and surrounded by (my favourite!) Slieve Miskish mountains and the majestic Caha Mountains, with Hungry Hill being the highest peak.
I highly recommend spending more than one day in and around Castletownbere.
Here are a few of Castletownbere’s highlights.
1 Town and Harbour
Strolling around the town and harbour is definitely worth a recommendation. Enjoy the views on Bere Island, explore the small shops, enjoy a cup of tea (and fine lunch) in one of the fantastic pubs and visit the colourful fishing boats (big and small). The market square is the place to be, especially on the first Thursday of each month, when the market is the busiest (the other Thursdays are great fun as well, though).
If you’re a fan of churches, visit the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a freestanding Gothic Revival style Roman Catholic Church, built 1907. Take the flight of steps from the street between SuperValu und the Square to approach the entrance.
2 Dunboy Castle and Puxley Mansion
Castletownbere and Dunboy Castle was once seat of the O’Sullivan Bere, a Gaelic clan leader. The castle itself was built to defend and control the harbour of Berehaven. Dunboy was destroyed during the Siege of Dunboy in the summer of 1602, during the rebellion of the O’Sullivan Bere clan against the English crown. The ruined castle is still visible and can be visited. A lovely loop trail along the coast with amazing views on Bere Island, the bay and the sea starts here. Be sure to bring your camera.
While approaching the ruins of Dunboy Castle, there’s Puxley Mansion on your right hand side, a manor house from the 19th century. It was burnt by the IRA in 1920. I remember exploring the ruins as a child in the 90s. While there where plans to open it as a hotel in the early 2000s and a lot of restoration work was done, the banking crash ended the dreams of having a luxury hotel on the Beara Peninsula.
The loop walks at Dunboy Castle & Puxley Manor are just beautiful and offer great views of Bere Island and the lighthouse, Castletownbere, Sheep’s Head and Mizen Head.
The short loop walk is dog friendly.
3 Derreenataggart Stone Circle + Teernahillane Ringfort
Derreenataggart Stone Circle is about 1.5km west of Castletown, close to the road leading to Teernahillane Ringfort and Lios Lara Riding Stables.
There’s a small parking space on the left (when coming from town), the small gate leading to the field where the stone circle is located is on the right hand side. Eight of the stones of this stone circle are standing, including one of the portal stones. The other portal stone has broken and three other stones have fallen.
Follow the road leading to Teernahillane until you reach Teernahillane Ringfort on the right hand side. There’s a small parking space right in front of the gate leading to the stone fort. The ring fort itself is beautiful and there’s a small tree growing on it ever since I can remember (ringforts are commonly referred to as fairy forts and as I was told as child, it is considered unlucky to cut (hawthorn) trees that grow in them. The ringfort is usually surrounded by sheep and the sunsets are amazing there.
4 MacCarthy’s Bar
Definitely a must-visit in Castletownbere. Not only is this famous pub owned by Adrienne MacCarthy, mentioned by Colin Farrell in his interviews, it was also the cover of the bestseller ‘McCarthy’s Bar’ by Pete McCarthy. At least as famous as the pub itself and Adrienne MacCarthy (the daughter of famous Aidan MacCarthy, please read his book!) is Adrienne’s sweet pug. Keeping pugs is a tradition of Adrienne and her sister Niki and I can’t think of a time when there wasn’t one (or more) pug around. The buzzing atmosphere in this pub is special and you’re going to love it here. Please say hi to Adrienne from me if you have the chance of meeting her.
5 Explore the area by boat
One of my favourites when travelling is exploring by boat. Castletownbere and the Beara Peninsula offer some great adventures when it comes to boat trips.
Definitely check out Beara Boat Tours and enjoy a fun day out exploring the area!
6 FOOD
If your mouth isn’t watering, it’s about to be!
I’ve got my mind on the tastiest thing about the Beara Peninsula, which is hands-down the divine food options here.
I wrote a blog post about the delicious gluten-free options on the Beara Peninsula here.
And there’s so much more!
7 Pony Trekking along the Beara Bridle Way
Anyone else a hot mess with directions? I could get lost on the way to my refrigerator... it’s true!
That’s why The Beara Bridle Way is such a great idea! It’s not only Ireland’s only bridle way, it also offers stunning views of the Beara Peninsula and is the perfect way to relax, enjoy nature AND have fun!
Visit http://www.bearabridleway.com for more information or check out Lios Lara Riding Stables on instagram.
Where To Stay?
Here are my Top 3 airbnbs in Castletownbere:
And there’s so much more to explore on the Beara Peninsula! Explore my blog for more information and feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions. I’m happy to help.
Etta x
