A Brief History of Bere Island

Population

The population of Bere Island has declined from a height of around 2,000 around the 1840’s to only around 200 in the 1990’s.  In comparison to other off-shore islands however, it is doing well in holding its own around the 200 mark for the last decade and a half.  The drastic population decline can be attributed to the Famine, and it didn’t rise again until major work started on the forts in 1989.  People from Bere Island emigrated all over the world, to places such as America, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.  

The Irish Language

Unlike many of the offshore islands of Ireland, English is the spoken language.  “Irish ceased to be the spoken language of the homes of Bere Island between 1880 and 1885”.  This was probably because it came to be seen as a sign of backwardness if a person wasn’t able to speak in English.  The richness of the language as it used to be spoken on Bere Island, can be seen in the placenames of the island, a great many of which still are in Irish.   

The O’Sullivan Clan

Bere island was the property of the O’Sullivan Beare Clan around the early 14^th Century. This remained the case until during Cromwell’s reign, it was decided that the O’Sullivans weren’t to be trusted, and in spite of their loyalty to the crown, the island was taken off him.  “This cast the islanders in the role of tenants for the next 300 years until the 1950s” (Ted Sullivan, Bere Island, a short history, 1992).

Military Involvement

Bere Island has a long military past, which even continues to the present day with the Irish army using the island for training purposes.  It was only on the 26^th of September of 1938 that Bere Island was handed back to the Irish government, even though Ireland received its independence in 1921, when the Irish Free State was founded.

In 1796, there was an attempted invasion of Ireland, through Bantry bay, with forces led by a General Hinoche, third in command to Napoleon Bonaparte.  The attempt failed due to bad weather conditions, but it led to a rush to defend the bay against further invasions, resulting to the construction of four Martello Towers on the island, two of which still remain intact.

A more modern phase of fortification began on Bere Island with a  compulsory purchase order on the 17^th March, 1898, after which tenants were cleared from the East end of the island.  The reason for these fortifications was to protect British Dreadnoughts when they were in port, as they needed 48 hours of ‘elaborate protection while routine maintenance had to be carried out’ and while they got up sufficient steam in their boilers.  This phase of construction led to the construction of seven gun batteries.  The fortifications are still in existence today but are in a state of disrepair and not safe to enter.

Much of the information contained in this page comes from "Bere Island - A Short History" written by Ted Sullivan published by Inisgragy Books

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