Word about the beauty and character of the Sheep’s Head Way has reached readers of Germany’s Country Home magazine

A beautifully illustrated article documents the author’s visits to some of Ireland’s EDEN destinations – otherwise known as European Destinations of Excellence.

The Sheep’s Head was named as an EDEN destination for sustainable tourism in 2009 and, as the article shows, it remains an unspoilt gem on Ireland’s coastline to this day. The feature introduces its German audience to Dunbeacon Pottery, walks with David Ross from Top of the Rock Pod Pairc and the fun to be had with Bantry Bay Pony Trekking.

Bantry House looks simply stunning in the gorgeous photos that accompany the article, and there are lovely mentions for The Fish Kitchen, Blairscove House and Heron Gallery Café and Gardens. Of course, Durrus Cheese also wins a positive mention!

Wonderful Hospitality

The author reserves special praise for the wonderful hospitality to be found at the award-winning Carbery Guest Lodge where the author was made very welcome. We hope the many readers of the magazine will consider making their own journeys to our beautiful part of the world to see for themselves why the Sheep’s Head is a little bit of EDEN right here on the Wild Atlantic Way.

Check out the article here

An exciting heritage project is making progress in researching the story of the O’Daly Bardic School which existed near Kilcrohane in the medieval period

In 2016, Muintir Bháire Community Council engaged John Tierney of Eachtra Archaeological Projects to conduct a conservation plan for the remains and site of the O’Daly Bardic School in Dromnea, east of Kilcrohane village. They set about mapping the site of the school, and their work was funded by a Heritage Council grant, awarded to the Muintir Bháire Community Council.

The archaeologists mapped the structures at the site using a high-tech remote camera to produce 3D images. They also reviewed existing date and historical sources to assess how the site fits into local and national contexts. This research phase has made clear that the site is strongly linked to the story of the medieval Gaelic era before the Flight of the Earls.

Listen to John Tierney’s Talk

John Tierney presented his research findings to a public meeting in Kilcrohane on 25th October, 2016, and you can listen to it here …
 

You can also take a look at the slides John used in his presentation …
 
[pdf-embedder url=”http://livingthesheepsheadway.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ODaly-Bardic-School-Slides-Oct-2016.pdf” title=”odaly-bardic-school-slides-oct-2016″]
 

Newspaper Reports on the O’Daly Bardic School Project

Other Useful Links

Archaeology.ie
Ordnance Survey of Ireland
https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/
johngrenham.com
historicgraves.com
This site shows how local graveyards have been mapped by local communities, helping locals and visitors to piece together stories about family history and the links between families and places.
Irish Folklore Project [Note: the interactive map here will only work if you are using the Internet Explorer browser]
 
 

Related Project: Walks Research

An interest in making more of our local heritage sites is key to another local project which is gathering views on the future development of the Sheep’s Head Way walking route. We’d be very grateful if you’d consider filling in a form to share your views on what might be done in the years ahead!

Local Feedback Form – http://bit.ly/2dgU7cd
Visitors’ Feedback Form – http://bit.ly/2dXdJVu

Any decisions about the future and development of the walkways will of course be made by the Sheep’s Head Way Ltd. and its members in a democratic way. Quite simply, what we’re doing here is collecting evidence from as many interested parties as possible so that local views are considered at every stage of planning for the development of tourism along the Sheep’s Head Way in the years ahead.
.
The Sheep’s Head & Bantry Tourism Co-operative is delighted to help the O’Daly project by providing this information page which we’ll update regularly. To find out more about the tourism co-op, visit http://livingthesheepsheadway.com/join-the-sheeps-head-bantry-tourism-co-operative/ or contact Siobhán on 086 303 0991.

Join the award-winning Sheep’s Head & Bantry Tourism Co-operative and support our campaign to promote responsible tourism along the route of West Cork’s Sheep’s Head Way

Why Join the Sheep’s Head & Bantry Co-op?

The promotion of our area as a complete entity makes it easy for tourists to appreciate the benefits of a visit and the delights of “living the Sheep’s Head Way”: it joins together the things we offer as separate businesses into a coherent offering and tells a story no one business can tell on its own (the Crafty Tour of the Sheep’s Head is an example of this strategy at work). We’re also able to work much more effectively with Fáilte Ireland on developing Wild Atlantic Way experiences and promoting them to potential visitors and tour operators.

Our focus is on helping to develop sustainable tourism businesses that benefit our community, safeguard our environment, and create truly memorable experiences for visitors. You can see our responsible tourism policy here.

We’ve achieved a lot so far, but there’s still lots to do … We’d be delighted to have your support.

Membership benefits include:

* Listing on our website (+ see conditions for this benefit below) for your business, packages and events (c.26,000 visits per year).
* Tips, news and advice shared via a regular “members only” newsletter.
* Increased exposure for your business via our marketing co-ordinator’s work with Fáilte Ireland, our fellow EDEN destinations, Cruise West Cork, and other regional, national and international initiatives.
* Organisation and coordination of press tours (We had German and Belgian press trips last year generating very valuable coverage and had a delegation of 20 EU observers visiting in September 2017).
* Practical marketing support for initiatives that stand to benefit multiple co-op businesses (This year we are representing you at the Irish Tour Operators Association event and Meitheal – Ireland’s largest inbound tour operator event).
* Destination promotion via our website and social media campaigns on Facebook, Twitter & elsewhere.
* Brochures
* Destination promotion through regular public newsletters & the maintenance of an up-to-date events calendar.
* *Members can now add up to 6 photos to their listing*
* Membership Window Sticker.

New Memberships will expire on 31st January 2019.

In the last year, funds covered a contract for 10 hours of marketing & website support each week from Siobhán Burke of Wordhoard Communications; brochure printing and development, and participation in trade and tourism events. The marketing support we engaged enabled us to provide the services above and to secure press coverage in Ireland and abroad, as well as a number of prestigious awards.

We’re hugely grateful to our committee members and member businesses for the considerable amount of voluntary support we’ve received since the co-op began work in September 2013. We are also grateful for the outstanding support we have received from the West Cork Development Partnership and Cork County Council. We will be using our subscription base to bolster funding applications we plan to make for ongoing support to keep our campaign going into the future.

You are welcome to join the co-op as a business member, or as an associate member – a kind of local tourism ambassador! We’d be delighted to have your support.

+Please note that due to restrictions on our funding terms, accommodation that is not approved by Fáilte Ireland cannot be listed directly on our website at http://livingthesheepsheadway.com, and is listed instead at http://westcorkholidayaccommodation.com

Join Offline

If you’d rather join ‘offline’, you should fill out our membership form and send it with a cheque for €100 to the Sheep’s Head & Bantry Tourism Cooperative (made out to that organisation), c/o Crocon Engineers, 4 Main Street, Town Lots, Bantry, Co. Cork.

Online banking payments can be made to:
BIC AIBKIE2D
IBAN: IE18AIBK93601414365026

Please indicate your name and business name clearly in your bank transfer transaction.
We will issue invoices by email within one week.

If you have any questions at all, please contact Siobhán on 086 303 0991.

AGM

We will hold an annual AGM at the Philips Green Centre, Durrus, Co. Cork to which all are welcome! Subscriptions can be renewed or begun at this event or at any other time.
Thanks so much for your support.