BERE ISLAND

A Place Apart

bere island

Bere Island Events 2021

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Events for 2021 will be scheduled when Government guidelines relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic allow.

Lonehort Battery
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic tours of Lonehort Battery are suspended until further notice.

Heritage Week 2021
14th – 22nd August
A full schedule of events for Bere Island will be announced shortly. (NB if in person events are not permitted these will be held online and on Bere Island Community Radio.

 Bere Island parkrun

Every Saturday morning at 9.30am from the GAA Pitch.  Click here for further details. (Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and advice from parkrun Ireland this event has been suspended until further notice)

  

Community Groups

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Bere Island Tourism and Environment Group
The Bere Island Tourism and Environment Group work to promote tourism initiatives on the island, undertake Tidy Islands projects and oversee the waste management collection.

The Tourism and Environment Group will hold their AGM on Thursday 28th January at 3pm on Zoom.

Anyone who would like to be involved in the group and attend the AGM can contact Helen Riddell at bereconservation@gmail.com

Bere Island Active Retirement Group

The  Active Retirement Group  hold fortnightly coffee mornings.  For further details contact Tim on 027 75099. (NB due to COVID-19 restrictions the coffee mornings are currently suspended).

Parent and Toddler Group
(NB due to COVID-19 restrictions the Parent and Toddler Group meetings are currently suspended).

After School Club
The After School Club is open every Monday from 3pm to 5pm in the Community Centre. (NB due to COVID-19 restrictions the After School Club is currently suspended).

Community Information

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Waste Collection & Recycling
Waste collections in 2021 will take place on:

Tuesday 9th February
Tuesday 9th March
Tuesday 13th April

Rubbish should be double bagged and left outside your home by 5pm on the day.  There is a limit of 2 bags per household at the current time. Stickers are €10 per bag and can be purchased from Murphy’s Shop and the Heritage Centre.  Bags which do not have a sticker will not be collected.
 
The Bere Island Recycling Centre is still open for recyclable waste only. Please observe social distancing when using the centre, and ensure all cans/bottles are clean and placed in the correct bins.

Donations towards the running of the  centre are greatly appreciated and can be left in the honesty box at the centre.

Rural Transport Bus
The rural transport bus travels to Castletownbere on Tuesdays and Fridays, travelling out on the 10am ferry from the west end and is currently returning on the 11.30am ferry.  The bus will pick you up from your home and drop you back afterwards.The bus is free for holders of travel passes.

If you would like to avail of the bus service please contact 027 75099.

Repair and Leasing Scheme
If anyone has a property on Bere Island, which they would like to rent out for long term use, but it needs work done on it first, the Repair and Leasing Scheme provides funding for property owners to bring a vacant property back to use, in return for the property being leased to a local authority or approved housing body for a period of at least 10 years. Further details are in the link below:

Council Housing
Council housing will soon become available on Bere Island. Please contact your housing officer at Cork County Council if you are interested.

Bere Island parkrun

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parkrun photo

Runners line up at the starting line of the Bere Island parkrun

Bere Island parkrun is on every Saturday at 9.30am.  The park run is a 5k measured course around the eastern end of the island and is open to  runners, joggers and walkers.  

Parkruns are free 5k running events which take place every week. The run is free, although participants are encouraged to register online in order to obtain a bar code, which is scanned at the beginning and end of their run, allowing them to track their progress on a weekly basis.

The parkrun was founded in 2005, with the first run taking place in Teddington, England. The idea quickly took off and there are now parkruns worldwide, with all runs organised on a voluntary basis.

On any given Saturday on Bere Island, you could be running or walking  alongside islanders of all ages, visitors and members of the Irish Defence Forces who have a training base on the island. Past runners of the Bere Island parkrun have included Olympic silver medalist Sonia O’Sullivan, parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt, and the Running Guru, Noel Berkeley.

The Bere Island park run, which is on the Wild Atlantic Way offers spectacular scenery of Bantry Bay with a route which takes in a Bronze Age wedge tomb, remains of a Viking boatyard and a former World War One military battery.  At the end of the run everyone heads to the Bakehouse Cafe in Rerrin Village for a coffee, scone and a chat.

Bere Island Ferries leaves Castletownbere at 9.00am,  and provide bus transport to the starting line.  Call Colum on 086 2423140 to book the ferry and bus for a special deal of €10.   The ferry returns to Castletownbere at 11.15am

Or why not make a weekend of it and stay on Bere Island which has a variety of accommodation on offer.

Runners, joggers and walkers of all ages and fitness levels are all welcome to take part in the Bere Island parkrun. To take part, you need to register at www.parkrun.ie

Once you have registered you will be sent a confirmation email containing your barcode and information on what to do next. You will then need to bring your barcode to the parkrun event on Bere Island, or to any of the parkrun events on offer worldwide.

If you require any further information or would like to volunteer at any of the runs please email bereislandhelpers@parkrun.com.