Guinness Cork Jazz Festival
21–25 Oct 2027 (dates to be confirmed) · Cork City
The October bank-holiday weekend fills Cork's pubs, clubs and concert halls with jazz, the city at its most musical.
Bantry
The town faces the bay and the mountains at once, and the week runs on the water and the market. Bantry sits on Bantry Bay in west Cork, overlooked by the Caha Mountains.
Best sites to see in Bantry
Bantry House and Gardens
A historic house overlooking Bantry Bay, home of the White family, with formal gardens including a terraced Italian garden and views across the bay to Whiddy Island.
Bantry Harbour and Wolfe Tone Square
The town's central square, named for Theobald Wolfe Tone, beside the harbour where fishing boats and ferries to Whiddy Island come and go.
Whiddy Island
A small island in Bantry Bay a short ferry ride from the town pier, with quiet roads, a pub and views back to Bantry and the Caha Mountains.
Bantry Museum
A small town museum covering local history, including the attempted French landing of 1796 and Bantry's maritime and farming past.
Where to stand, and when
- Bantry House garden terraces: Afternoon light over Bantry Bay makes the terraces and the view to Whiddy Island especially clear.
- The harbour at Wolfe Tone Square: Go near sunset for colour on the water and the boats moored along the pier.
- The shore road east of town looking back to Bantry: Morning gives a wide view of the town set between the bay and the hills behind it.
Bantry through history
In December 1796 a French fleet carrying troops and Theobald Wolfe Tone reached Bantry Bay intending to land in support of Irish rebellion, but storms scattered the fleet and prevented a landing.
Bantry House's core dates to the early 18th century, and the estate was developed by the White family, later Earls of Bantry.
Bantry grew as a market town and fishing port at the head of Bantry Bay, one of the long sea inlets of the west Cork coast.
Mussel farming and fishing have been important to Bantry Bay in modern times, alongside tourism on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Practical tips
- Bantry's weekly market fills Wolfe Tone Square on Fridays, which is lively for visitors but makes central parking harder.
- Check Whiddy Island ferry times before setting out, as the return sailing sets the length of an island visit.
- Bantry House and Gardens have seasonal opening, so check dates before travelling in winter.