Crookhaven

Last Updated: 10th Oct, 2019

Crookhaven Harbour is as picturesque as it was useful being a large sheltered harbour in West Cork. The village of Crookhaven has a distinguished history as the last port of call for ships going to and from America.

Over the centuries ships stocked up with provisions here before tackling the Atlantic Ocean. All the shipping lines had agents here to tell the ships in which port their cargo had been sold. At the beginning of the 20th. Century it was said that you could cross the harbour on the decks of boats.

The area has numerous Bronze Age field monuments in the hills around Crookhaven. The Ordnance Survey Discovery Series map 88 will indicate their whereabouts for you. Today very popular with tourists and locals alike. You pass the old Roadstone Quarry on the side of the mountain, which provided metalling for the roads of Wales until 1945.

700 people lived and worked in the village against the 29 permanent residents today. Marconi came here to try to get his first radio message across the Atlantic and he fitted the first telegraphic equipment to the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse to communicate with the passing ships

Crookhaven is very popular with those who enjoy water activities and just 10 minutes from Goleen or 30 minutes from Schull, so there are lots of villages to explore close by and just enjoy this great coastal setting.