Gougane Barra
| Gougane Barra Irish: Guagán Barra | |
| County Cork | |
|---|---|
 Church at Gougane Barra | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | X107776 |
| Location: | 51°57’1"N, 7°50’41"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
Gougane Barra is a village to the west of Macroom in County Cork. Its name is the Irish Guagán Barra, meaning 'Rock of Barra'.[1]
The name Gougane Barra comes from Saint Finbarr, who is said to have built a monastery on an island in the lake nearby during the 6th century. The present ruins date from around 1700 when a priest called Denis O'Mahony retreated to the island.[2] During the times of the Penal Laws, Gougane Barra's remoteness meant that it became a popular place for the celebration of the Roman Catholic Mass.
About the village
The nineteenth century oratory which stands near the original monastery is famous for its picturesque location and richly decorated interior and is a popular place for wedding photography.[3] St Finbar's Oratory is the final destination for one of the five 'Pilgrim Paths of Ireland', St. Finbar's Pilgrim Path, which starts 22 miles away in Drimoleague.[4]
Afforestation around the settlement began in 1938 and Gougane Barra is now home to a forest park of 340 acres with 20 different species of tree, mainly Sitka spruce, Japanese larch, Scots pine and Lodgepole pine, and a large number of native species of flora and fauna. The River Lee rises in the hills above the park and flows into Gougane lake. The forest park has three miles of motor trail and six miles of hill walks, nature points and vista trails.[5]
The Coillte-owned forest at Gougane Barra was temporarily closed in 2014 to allow felling of 16,000 trees, mostly larches, infected with or susceptible to Phytophthora ramorum, a pathogen responsible for Sudden Oak Death. These trees were to be replaced with other species such as oak and Scots pine.[6]
Pictures
Front of the oratory
Surrounding hills
19th century oratory
18th century hermitage
References
- ↑ Guagán Barra/Gougane Barra: Placenames Database of Ireland
- ↑ Evelyn Bolster (1972). A History of the Diocese of Cork: From the earliest times to the Reformation. Irish University Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780064905725.
- ↑ "Gougane Barra". Cork Guide Web site. http://www.cork-guide.ie/gouganebarra/gouganebarra.html.
- ↑ "St Finbarr’s Pilgrim Path, Cork". Pilgrim Paths of Ireland. https://www.pilgrimpath.ie/pilgrim-paths-day/st-finbarrs-pilgrim-path-cork/.
- ↑ "National and Forest Parks - Gougane Barra Forest Park". DiscoverIreland.ie. http://www.discoverireland.ie/Arts-Culture-Heritage/gougane-barra-forest-park/44713.
- ↑ Roche, Barry (4 January 2014). "Cork’s Gougane Barra Forest Park closing due to tree fungus". Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/cork-s-gougane-barra-forest-park-closing-due-to-tree-fungus-1.1643902.
