Bantry Bay

Artist(s): Thomas Creswick (Draughtsman), Samuel Fisher (Engraver)

A height above Bantry Bay, Co. Cork, with woman, child and soldiers in the foreground. Further back, a town with tall buildings, a church and some fortifications, in front of a broad bay with sailing boats. In the distance, a sweep of mountains.

Inscribed in Image

Signature – T. Creswick. / S. Fisher.
Caption outside of boundaries of image – Bantry Bay. County Cork.
Text outside of boundaries of image – London. Published 1837, for the proprietor, by Longman & C<sup>o</sup>. Paternoster Row.

Image Details

Genre	Landscape
Technique	Etchings
Subject(s)	Cities and towns, Marines, Nature, Rural life
Geographical Location	Bantry Bay – Named locality Cork – County Leinster – Province
Keyword(s)	Boats, Buildings, Children, Churches, Firearms, Harbours, Headgear, Peasants, Seas, Shawls, Soldiers, Trees, Women
Colour	Monochrome
Dimensions	10.8 cm x 12.5 cm
Published / created	1837

Bibliographical Details

Travel Account	Ireland Picturesque and Romantic
Contributor(s)	Leitch Ritchie — Role: Author of travel text
Print or manuscript	Print
Location of image in copy	Vol. II, facing p. 256
Source copy	National Library of Ireland Ir 9141 r 15
Alternative source This is a link to a digital copy hosted by an external website.	http://hdl.handle.net/2027/yale.39002001929083?urlappend=%3Bseq=307
Permalink	https://ttce.universityofgalway.ie/irelandillustrated/view/image/ii_image_1312113332
Rights	Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Related text from travel account

The road from Glengariff round the bay to Bantry — for Glengariff is merely a nook of Bantry Bay — is extremely agreeable; but there are scenes at some distance to the left which the tourist, if more fortunate than myself with regard to weather, should not fail to visit, I believe, however, the best way is to proceed at once to Bantry, and thence make excursions to the Pass of Coveleagh and Gougan Barry, The Bay itself, of which a view is annexed, is a fine object. It affords excellent anchorage, and is said to be capable of containing, at one time, all the shipping of Europe. At the entrance of the harbour Bear-island interposes its protection against the fury of the Atlantic; and, with its rugged cliffs, adds considerably to the interest of the picture. There used formerly to be a valuable pilchard fishery here; but, as it is stated in Dr, Brooks' Natural History, the pilchards left the coast completely immediately after the fight between the English and French fleets in 1689. A similar occurrence, he adds, was observed in the Bay of Dublin, where the herrings were frightened away for an entire season by the guns of a pleasure yacht. [Vol. II, p. 256]