• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Beara Breifne Way

Beara Breifne Way

Tracing the Footsteps of O'Sullivan Beare

  • Home
  • Walking
    • Overview
    • Section One Trails
      • Beara Way
      • Slí Gaeltacht Mhúscraí
      • North West Cork Way
    • Section Two Trails
      • Ballyhoura Way
      • Multeen Way
      • Ormond Way
      • Hymany Way
    • Section Three Trails
      • Suck Valley Way
      • Lung / Lough Gara Way
      • Miner’s Way & Historical Trail
      • Leitrim Way
      • Cavan Way
    • Beara Breifne Way Accommodation List
    • Location of Stamps
  • History
    • Clans
  • Cycling
  • Horse Riding
  • About Us
  • Maps
  • Contact

Béal Átha an Gaorthaidh

10th April 2018 by Beara Breifne

BBW Ballingeary Stamp

Ballingeary is a small village in West Cork in the Muskerry Gaeltacht or Irish-speaking area

Béal Átha an Ghaorthaidh, which is its name in Irish, means ‘the mouth of the ford of the wooded valley through which flows a river’. The river is the mighty River Lee which travels from Gougane Barra to Cork city.

Ballingeary is ideal as a central base to explore the rest of West Cork and Kerry. There is a daily bus connection to and from Cork City. There is trout fishing in Gougane Barra and pike and coarse fishing in Lough Allua, which offers six miles of lake between Ballingeary and Inchigeela. Boats can be hired locally.

Heritage Sites

There are some very interesting historical sites locally including ancient burial grounds and megalithic tombs; a ‘Crannóg’, a lake dwelling over 1500 years old; stone forts and the tallest standing stone or ‘Gallaun’ in Ireland.

Gougane Barra, a historic and scenic valley is a popular destination for both tourist and pilgrims as it was here that St. Finbarr, founder of Cork City, had a monastery in the 7th Century.

Ballingeary is also home to the longest ‘Clapper Bridge’ in Ireland, which has been restored in recent years. This ancient bridge was built using large stone slabs and is still in use by locals and visitors alike to the present day.

Ballingeary Cumann Staire (Historical Society)’, procured the ‘Famine Pot’ which was used in the parish during the famine years to feed the hungry. It is on display adjacent to the bridge in the centre of the village.

Ballingeary is probably best known for ‘Coláiste Na Mumhan’ which was the first Irish college in Ireland, founded in 1904. Each year, hundreds of students come to learn Irish at the college and also from the local people.

Among those who have studied here are the ‘Patriot Lord Mayor of Cork’ Terence McSweeney, Tomás MacCurtin, writer, Piaras Beaslaoi, Sean O’Faolaoin, Frank O’Connor and many other well known personalities.

Literary Connections

The ‘Tailor & Ansty’, subjects of Eric Cross’s famous book, lived between Ballingeary village and Gougane Barra. A local and famous poet, Máire Bhuí Uí Laoghaire, immortalised this area in verse through one of her rousing narratives telling the tale of the Battle of Keimaneigh in 1822, “Cath Céim an Fhia”.

Stamp Location

Siopa Uí Dhuinnín

Primary Sidebar

Contact Slí Gaeltacht Mhúscraí

To find out more about the route, accommodation or local services, contact Slí Gaeltacht Mhúscraí via our contact form, or at:

Slí Gaeltacht Mhúscraí Committee
Gougane Barra Hotel
Gougane Barra
Co. Cork

Email: sligm@eircom.net
Website: http://www.sligaeltachtmuscrai.com

How to Walk the Beara-Breifne Way

You can walk the whole of O’Sullivan Beare’s route from West Cork to Leitrim

We’ve created a unique walking passport you can use to catalogue your progress over days, months or even years. Each community has chosen a stamp to represent its character, and as you collect your passport stamps, you’ll get to meet some of the people behind the walk’s creation.

 


 

How to use the passport

You can order your  Beara-Breifne Way passport online and plan your route using our handy maps.

Stamp locations are listed on on this website for each walk and walk section. When you complete your  walk, call in to its passport point, and we’ll stamp your passport for you.

At the end of your journey, you can claim the final stamp which proves you walked the entire Beara-Breifne Way!

Follow the Beara-Breifne Way

RSS
Follow by Email
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Post on X
Beara-Breifne Way
7 years ago
Beara-Breifne Way Community Stamp Launch

Communities from the tip of West Cork to the top of Cavan gathered in Roscommon yesterday to launch the new passport and community stamps visitors can use to track their journeys on the Beara-Breifne Way.

You can order your passport at https://www.bearabreifneway.ie/passport
... See more

View on facebook
7 years ago
Beara Breifne Way

Today the Beara-Breifne Way has its launch! Its creation is a great tribute to the communities along Ireland's longest walking route who've collaborated to commemorate O'Sullivan Beare's 17th-century march. ... See more

Tracing the Footsteps of O'Sullivan Beare

View on facebook
7 years ago
bearabreifneway.ie

Today the Beara-Breifne Way has its launch! It's creation is a great tribute to the communities along Ireland's longest walking route.

View on facebook

Footer

Funding Partners:

Supported by:

Follow the Beara-Breifne Way

Get new posts by email

Follow the Beara-Breifne Way

RSS
Follow by Email
Facebook
Facebook
fb-share-icon
Twitter
Post on X

Copyright © 2025 · Kreativ Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT