 Ballyheigue |
 Ballyheigue |
 Ballyheigue Castle |
Ballyheigue Bay shoals a long way out and due to this many ships
have foundered here.
"Golden Lyon" the most famous wreck is a Danish ship
heading for India bearing twelve large chests of silver bullion among
her cargo manifest. Despite the efforts of her captain Johan Heitman and
her 87 crew the vessel was driven on to the sands near Ballyheigue Village.
The ship was in danger of being looted and the landlord of the area Thomas
Crosbie took charge of the situation. An old tower nearby served as a
vault for the bullion until arrangements could be made to return it to
its owners.Thomas Crosbie died soon afterwards and his widow, Lady Margaret
lodged a claim for salvage. A legal battle ensued and the silver remained
under guard. Eight months went by and on a June night the Crosbie mansion
was surrounded by a gang of 100-armed men with blackened faces. They broke
into the vault, shot two sentries and took the chests of bullion away
in horse and carts. Sir Maurice Crosbie of Ardfert conducted an investigation
and charges were brought against various individuals. The subsequent trial
in Dublin in 1735 was overshadowed by suicide, perjury and the suspected
poisoning of a witness.The jury returned a verdict of "not guilty".
A small part of the silver was recovered. The rest has being the subject
of much speculation to this day.
Ballyheigue Castle: giving a distinctive character to the village
is- now a ruin. Up to the 16th century the Norman Lords, the Cantillions
ruled the Ballyheigue area. They had their Castle and Keep where the present
Castle now stands.During the Wars and Plantations of Queen Elizabeth 1st
they were dispossessed and the Crosbie family came to power as landlords.They
held sway in the area until they sold out during the war of Irish Independence.
The present Castle was designed by the renowned architect Richard Morrison
and built for Colonel James Crosbie in 1809. It was a beautiful building
with panoramic views of the Bay. As the war of Independence progressed
the place became a compound during a roundup of local men of the Clanmorris
area. This occurrence gave the I.R.A. of that time the valid reason to
fire the place so that it would not become an interment camp-like prison.
The grounds in recent years have been turned into a golf course and the
Castle Façade recently renovated by FAS is retained to front the
entrance to the course.
Sir Roger Casement: a bronze statue can be seen nearby, also the
small boat that Roger Casement used to land at Banna.
Ballyheigue Beach - on Ballyheigue Beach you had Teampall Fe Thuinn (Church
under the waves) - according to legend this Church stood on what was once
an island in Ballyheigue bay. This island was the traditional burial ground
of a local family the Cantillions. When the island became submerged the
family continued to use the cemetery. Tradition held that the corpse was
carried to the Muchan na Marbh (Rock of the Dead) on Ballyheigue Beach,where
the family ancestors spirited the body away to the island. This tradition
continued until the death of Florence Cantillion when a mortal, Connor
Crowe saw the ghosts removing Florence's remains to their watery grave.
One of the spirits was heard to say "the time has come, a human eye
looks on the forms of the ocean, a human ear has heard their voices. Farewell
to the Cantillions. The sons of the sea are no longer doomed to bury the
dust of the Earth."
Mucklaghmore: or the Mucklagh as it is commonly called, is the
dome-shaped rock in the centre of Ballyheigue Bay. Nearly 30 metres above
sea level it is virtually impossible to land on and remains a safe home
for sea birds.