Native name:
Garinis | |
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Landing slip
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  Garinish
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| Geography | |
| Location | Bantry Bay |
| Coordinates | 51°44′11″N 9°32′28″W / 51.73639°N 9.54111°W / 51.73639; -9.54111 |
| Administration | |
| Province | Munster |
| County | Cork |
Garinish[1]orGarnish Island (Irish: Garinis)[1] (also known as Ilnacullin) is an island in Glengarriff Bay, an inlet of Bantry Bay, near the shore of the Beara PeninsulainCounty Cork, Ireland.[2] It is a tourist attraction with walled gardens and a Martello tower.
The garden was designed by Harold Peto, (1854–1933), for its owner John Annan Bryce, (1841–1923), a Belfast native, who purchased the island from the War Office in 1910. Bryce's son Roland bequeathed the island to the Irish nation in 1953. It was taken over and is still maintained by the Office of Public Works. Renowned for its gardens and architecture (a mansion was designed by Peto but was never built), the island has played host to writers including George Bernard Shaw and George William Russell.[citation needed]
There is a restored Martello tower on the island dating from the time of the Napoleonic Wars. The tower, like others in Cork, but unlike other Irish Martello towers, has a straight cylindrical shape that does not splay out at its base.[citation needed]
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| Source: Central Statistics Office. "CNA17: Population by Off Shore Island, Sex and Year". CSO.ie. Retrieved 12 October 2016. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mains electricity was brought to the island in the early 1950s via overhead cable.[3]
The island extends to 15 hectares (37 acres) and is renowned for its gardens which flourish in the mild humid micro-climate of Glengarriff harbour assisted by a mainly pine shelter belt. Structures include a clock tower, a Grecian temple, a Martello Tower, and an Italian casita.
Several ferries service the island from the village of Glengarriff. These ferries generally include a tour of the nearby seal colony.[citation needed]
