Things to do - Living the Sheep's Head Way

West Cork Literary Festival 2022

July 5, 2022 by Dunmanus

West Cork Literary Festival 8 – 15 July 2022

The West Cork Literary Festival presents an extensive programme of readings, workshops, seminars, panel discussions and children’s events

At the heart of the West Cork Literary Festival’s extensive programme is a schedule of five and three day workshops in Coláiste Pobail Bheanntrai. These workshops cover subjects such as the novel, travel writing, script writing, poetry, creative writing for beginners, writing for children and much more.

The main evening events feature readings held in the Maritime Hotel. In recent years, the literary festival’s guest authors have include Graham Norton, Mary Robinson, Colm Tóibín, Lord Melvyn Bragg, Sir Michael Parkinson, Michael Palin, Nuruddin Farah, Michael Morpurgo, Michael Holroyd, Annie Proulx, Margaret Drabble, Fay Weldon, and many more famous authors.

This year sees a full in person return to the festival and a packed schedule of 69 events featuring over 80 authors such as Laureate for Irish Fiction Colm Tóibín, Zadie Smith, Paul Muldoon, Nick Laird, Louise O’Neill, Geoff Dyer, Rosaleen McDonagh, Seán Hewitt, Maeve Higgins, Yan Ge, Kerri ní Dochartaigh, Caroline O’Donoghue, Tice Cin – and many more.

Festival Programme

This summer, the West Cork Literary Festival has partnered with the Lighthouse Project to deliver an offering at Sheep’s Head with writer Sara Baume and visual artist Mark Beatty. The Lighthouse Project is a site-specific response to lighthouses around Ireland, curated by Dani Gill and produced in partnership with festivals and other partners in counties where it takes place. Please note that tickets are limited and attendance at this event is limited to ticket-holders only.

This event takes place on the 15th July 2022.

Book Now

Bantry town is buzzing with literary conversation throughout the festival. There are free readings in Bantry Library and Bantry Bookshop, afternoon seminars, book launches, panel discussions, coffee and chat events.

The West Cork Literary Festival also provides an opportunity for Munster novelists to enter a competition to win the JG Farrell Award.

West Cork Literary Festival at a glance

West Cork Literary Festival

Dates:	8th-15th July 2022
Location:	Bantry, Co. Cork
Bookings:	Book online
Phone:	00 353 (0)27 52788/9
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	http://www.westcorkmusic.ie/literaryfestival/
	Please be advised by individual venues
TripAdvisor Reviews:	No
Google Maps:	Yes
Facebook:	Yes
Twitter:	@wcorklitfest

Masters of Tradition Festival 2018

February 2, 2017 by Dunmanus

Masters of Tradition is a five-day traditional music festival held each August in the West Cork town of Bantry

The Masters of Tradition Festival features a series of wonderful performances that cover the full spectrum of Irish traditional music. The festival’s performances take place in fantastic settings around Bantry. Bantry House is one of Ireland’s most exquisite historic mansions, and concerts also take place in one of Bantry’s other special venues, St Brendan’s Church.

The event, organised by West Cork Music, provides a platform where subtle and sometimes obscure elements of Irish traditional music can be heard. By seeking the heart of the music, we find a universal voice that has widespread appeal and reaches across many cultural and musical barriers.

Why not come to Bantry for the festival and enjoy all the coastal town has to offer between the wonderful musical sets the festival has scheduled? There are many great loop walks to enjoy in the area along the Sheep’s Head Way walking route.

The Masters of Tradition festival is headlined by its Artistic Director, Martin Hayes, the fiddler from East Clare, whose distinctive touch and extravagant virtuosity have brought the tradition to new levels. His famous trance-evoking sets with Dennis Cahill have mesmerised audiences all over the world and will do again this summer!

Dates:	22nd-26th August 2018
Location:	Bantry, Co. Cork
Bookings:	Book online
Phone:	00 353 (0)27 52788/9
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	http://www.westcorkmusic.ie/mastersoftradition/
	Please be advised by individual venues
TripAdvisor Reviews:	No
Google Maps:	Yes
Facebook:	Yes
Twitter:	@mastersoftradit

West Cork Chamber Music Festival 2018

February 2, 2017 by Dunmanus

The West Cork Chamber Music Festival is the highlight of the summer for the many music lovers who make the annual pilgrimage to Bantry

Over the course of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, almost one hundred international musicians perform thirty six concerts in beautiful Bantry House and St. Brendan’s Church, Wolfe Tone Square, Bantry.

Among the musicians scheduled to perform in 2018 are Mairéad Hickey,Peter Spissky, Luigi Gaggero, Alina Ibragamova, and the Dudok Quartet.

This is the festival where the music lover can hear the finest works in the repertoire as well as world premieres of some exciting new music. Each year audience members from throughout Europe, the United States and the Middle East arrive in this small fishing town in a remote corner of West Cork.

The West Cork Chamber Music Festival is not just a week of extraordinary concerts in a fabulous setting. It is also a summer meeting-point for top young ensembles, where advanced students have the opportunity to immerse themselves without distraction in the world of chamber music.

Morning talks, a violin making exhibition, young musician master classes, and a handful of free events run throughout the week.

It is important to pre-book your tickets, as the festival is known to sell out! Tickets for the West Cork Chamber Music Festival can be booked on the festival website or by calling the West Cork Music office.

Dates:	30th June-8th July 2017
Location:	Bantry, Co. Cork
Bookings:	Book online
Phone:	00 353 (0)27 52788/9
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	http://www.westcorkmusic.ie/chambermusicfestival/
	Please be advised by individual venues
TripAdvisor Reviews:	No
Google Maps:	Yes
Facebook:	Yes
Twitter:	@WestCorkMusic

Carbery Sailing

January 6, 2017 by Dunmanus

At Carbery Sailing on the Sheep’s Head peninsula, we offer RYA-approved sailing courses and chartered sailing trips along Ireland’s beautiful Atlantic coastline

Our sailing school is based in Ahakista on West Cork’s Sheep’s Head peninsula – a European Destination of Excellence. All of our sailing courses take place on our Hallberg Rassy 46 yacht ‘Merlin’.

Bantry Bay, Dunmanus Bay and Roaringwater Bay offer technical challenges to suit everyone and make West Cork a fantastic place to learn to sail. You’ll gain practical experience and confidence as well as your RYA sailing qualifications when you’re learning to sail, or building your sailing skills on Cork’s dramatic bays.

Our professional and friendly instructors cater for novice sailors and for people looking to advance their sailing skills. Train for your ‘Start Yachting’, ‘Competent Crew’, ‘Day Skipper’ and ‘Yachtmaster Coastal’ sailing qualifications here. You can also sign up for ‘taster’ weekends, mile-building courses or chartered day trips and Wild Atlantic Way Cruises.

Our visitors love the fine scenery, fantastic food and great company they find on the Sheep’s Head peninsula after a day out on the water. It’s a wonderful base for a sailing break along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.

Contact Carbery Sailing today, and we’ll help you plan every aspect of your trip from your training, travel, and transfers to great accommodation.

You’ll find our scheduled sailing courses and Wild Atlantic Way cruises here on the events calendar and at http://carberysailing.com

Location:	Ahakista, Sheep's Head peninsula, Co. Cork
Open:	7 days, 9am-8pm.
Email:	[email protected]
Tel:	00 353 (0)27 29101
	No
Website:	http://carberysailing.com/
TripAdvisor:	Yes
Responsible Tourism Policy:	Yes Long-listed for Irish Responsible Tourism Awards 2015: 'Best in a Marine or Coastal Environment' category.
Google Maps:	Yes
Facebook:	Yes
Twitter:	@carberysailing

Gardens of the Sheep’s Head Way

May 12, 2016 by Dunmanus

West Cork gardens are shaped by great imaginations and the Gulf Stream climate

We’re able to grow an extraordinary range of plants by our Atlantic coastline thanks to the warmth the Gulf Stream brings. The lovely mild climate we experience all along the Sheep’s Head Way walking route – on the Sheep’s Head peninsula itself and in the more sheltered areas inland – is taken advantage of by our innovative gardeners.

They show great ingenuity, whether they’re working on grand estates or in smaller idylls, each with their own unique character. There are wonders to be found all along the Sheep’s Head Way for anyone with a passion for plants and the beautiful environment we’re blessed with here in West Cork.

Variety and Ingenuity Combined

Explore the terraced West Cork gardens at Bantry House, and climb the steps to look out across the house, its gorgeous grounds, and Bantry Bay. And call to meet the gardeners who bring extraordinary colour and variety to plots across West Cork’s Sheep’s Head peninsula at Ballinvillon, Ballycommane, Heron Gallery and Carraig Abhainn.

Visits to the lovely gardens on the Sheep’s Head peninsula are truly rewarding. And the tearoom at Bantry House and the café at Heron Gallery give you the perfect excuses to treat yourself while you’re on tour!

Our West Cork gardens are close to the mountain trails and cliff-top walks of the Sheep’s Head Way, and, while you’re visiting the area, you’ll enjoy the chance to see our creative craftspeople at work too. There’s creativity in evidence at every turn here, as you’ll soon see!

See the full list of our Sheep’s Head gardens here!

Explore even more West Cork gardens when you set out on the West Cork Garden Trail!

Manning’s Emporium Food Tours

June 5, 2015 by Dunmanus

Manning’s Emporium Food Tours brings you to the very heart of West Cork’s foodie culture with its absorbing day tours

If you love the local food you’re tasting along the Wild Atlantic Way, take a Manning’s Emporium foodie tour and you’ll discover how the spirit of West Cork infuses the flavours on your plate.

Each of our exclusive tours gives a distinct flavour, not just of the region’s deservedly famous artisan cheeses, hams and other delicacies, but of the people who make them, and the places that inspire them.

Manning’s Emporium has a reputation as one of the best places to eat in West Cork. Now its guides will take you into the heart of West Cork’s foodie scene to meet our passionate producers, and to explore the landscapes in which they work.

This is the perfect way to get a taste for artisan produce, and to learn more about the people, places and seascapes that give West Cork food its unique character.

All Manning’s Emporium food tours must be booked in advance.

Location:	Ballylickey, Bantry, Co. Cork [N71 - Bantry to Glengarriff Road]
Opening Hours:	Daily, 9am-7pm
Winter Hours:	Closed Mondays
Tel:	00 353 (0)27 50456
Email:	[email protected]
Website:	http://www.manningsemporium.ie
	Access to undercover area, however no bathroom facilities.
	Yes
Credit Cards:	Yes
Special Dietary Requirements?	Vegetarian, options available. Wide variety of gluten-free speciality items.
TripAdvisor Reviews:	Yes
Facebook:	Yes
Twitter:	@emporiummanning