Attractions

The Priest’s Leap

Located high in the Caha Hills to the west of Cnoc Baoi, this is reputedly the site of a miraculous leap by a priest on horseback to evade capture by pursuing soldiers. The horse landed at the outskirts of the town of Bantry, a distance of nine miles away. The road to the Priest’s Leap ascends sharply from Coomhola to the mountain ridge on the Cork/Kerry border skirting the beautiful valley of Cúm na Léime.

Loch na mBreach Dearg
Loch na mBreach Dearg, which translates into English as the lake of the Red Trout,  is a splendid example of a corrie lake nestling high in the Caha Mountains over the Borlin Valley. An excellent venue for a family picnic or to commune with nature in a haven of solitude.

Coomhola Lodge
Located to the west of Coomhola Valley, Coomhola Lodge was formally a hunting lodge of Bantry House The lodge is set in giant woodlands and cascading streams and features the Gulf Stream garden. It is also home to the Coomhola Salmon Trust, creators of the the unique StreamScapes environmental education course.

Historical & Archaeological Sites

The Three Valleys area is dotted with archaeological sites including stone circles, stone rows, standing stones, cairns, fulachta fiadh, Mass rocks, ring forts and wedge tombs.These sites are mostly on private property but a polite request will normally ensure a cordial welcome.

Kealkill Stone Circle
This is a significant archaeological site not only with a stone circle but also a radial stone cairn and a pair of standing stones. Located immediately to the south of Kealkill Village, the site offers spectacular views with Bantry Bay to the west, Cnoc Baoi to the north and the Sheha Hills to the east. Stone Circles are generally regarded as ritual sites where ceremonies took place and are likely to date from the Bronze Age. Radial Stone Cairns are thought to be burial monuments also from the Bronze Age. The orientation factor has given rise to a lot of speculation into the astronomical alignment of these structures. However there are no scientific conclusions on this point and it may be that prominent landscape features rather than celestial bodies are the reason for a particular orientation.

Maughanasilly Stone Row
Located about two miles to the north of Carriganass near Lake Toureen. Consists of 5 sandstone uprights aligned north east/south west over a distance of 6m. The monument is dated from between 1600 to 1400 BC. An excavation done in 1977 did not reveal what the function of this stone row was. Whatever the function, it is easy to imagine the monument being a sacred place for local Bronze Age inhabitants.

Carriganass Castle

Built in the 1500's Carriganass Castle is an ancestral home of the O'Sullivan Beare clan. Its most famous resident was Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare. Folklore tells us Donal Cam's wife Aoife was murdered by English soldiers at Gougane Barra. To revenge her death Donal Cam threw the English military leader St. Leger from the castle tower into the Ouvane River beneath.
Today the castle ruins are open to the public from the months of May to September. For more information on Carriganass Castle visit www.carriganass.com

Kilmocomoge
Situated on the about a mile from Kealkill on the Glengarriff road this site contains a ruined church dedicated to St. Mocomoge and an adjoining cemetery. It also includes a holy well that is still venerated and souterrains.