Ballydehob
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Ballydehob Béal an Dá Chab |
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|---|---|
| Village | |
Main Street
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|
 Ballydehob
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| Coordinates: 51°33′N 9°28′W / 51.550°N 9.467°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Cork |
| Barony | Carbery West |
| Parish | Schull |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4 km2 (2 sq mi) |
| • Land | 3.61 km2 (1.39 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Total | 810 |
| • Density | 202/km2 (520/sq mi) |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Ballydehob (Irish: Béal an Dá Chab, meaning "mouth of the two river fords") is a coastal village in the southwest of County Cork, Ireland, located on the N71 national secondary road.
At the dawn of the Bronze Age (2200-600 B.C.), copper was mined on Mount Gabriel, just west of the village. About the same time stone circles, wedge and boulder tombs were constructed in the area. The Celts arrived at some later time and in the early historic period various clans fought for dominance, until the eventual emergence of the McCarthys and O'Mahonys as the rulers of the region. A string of castles along the coastline bear testament to their strength, and to the strategic importance of this area. Kilcoe Castle was the McCarthy's most westerly stronghold and their only coastal foothold; it was probably West Cork's best preserved castle, which has in recent years been extensively Disneyfied by the actor Jeremy Irons).
In 1602 soldiers led by Sir George Carew, Lord President of Munster, descended on the area in a successful bid to break the power of the Gaelic chieftains. Their passage through West Cork was described in "Pacata Hibernia" by Thomas Stafford, told of course from the invaders point of view, but interestingly, and probably uniquely for the time, a contemporary Irish account can also be found in Historicae Catolicae Iberniae Compenium by Don Philip O'Sullivan.
The 17th century saw an influx of settlers mainly from England, but a significant number were Protestants (Huguenots) fleeing persecution in Catholic France. The Swantons from Norfolk emerged as the most prominent family in the locality, and by the late 18th century they had succeeded in changing the name of Ballydehob to Swanton's Town. (The last known use of the name Swanton's Town was in the census of 1821).
In the 1820s copper mining developed again in the region. The Cappagh mine, the most productive of several, was financed by Lord Audley; its 20-metre chimney survived until February 2002, when it was destroyed by a lightning strike. An interesting feature of this mining era was the introduction to Ballydehob of a police constabulary and barracks, some 6 years before the first London police force. By the 1840s the population of the area had swelled to nearly 20,000. Then disaster struck when the potato crop failed and the Great Irish Famine resulted. This affected Ballydehob and the whole of West Cork in a most devastating way; thousands died and thousands more emigrated. Between 1841 and 1851 the population of the area fell by 42%, a decline which was much higher than the national average. At present Ballydehob has a resident population of about 300.
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