Whiddy Island is an island near the head of Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay

Bantry Bay is a bay located in County Cork, southwest Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km wide at the head and wide at the entrance....

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. It is approximately 5.6 km (3.5 mi) long and 2.4 km (1.5 mi) wide. The topography comprises gently-rolling glacial till, with relatively fertile soil. As late as 1880, it had a resident population of around 450, mainly engaged in fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 and small-scale farming.

It currently has a permanent, resident population of 17 people, although there are many visitors in the tourist season, many staying in self-catering accommodation in the form of several restored traditional island cottages.

The island is linked to the mainland by the local ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

, The Ocean Star III, with return trips several times a day. Bike hire is also available on the Island for a nominal fee, as is a local hackney service. as well as trips to and from the Island, tours of the Bay are also available during the summer months, incorporating local history, scenery and the indigenous flora and fauna.

There is one pub, The Bank House, which opens regularly, fresh food and live music from local musicians is also available during the summer months.

The present-day economy is mainly fuelled by the fishing and farming industries. Due to its mild winter temperatures, it has a local reputation for producing the region's earliest potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

 crop.

Historically, the island shared the strategic significance of Bantry Bay's deepwater anchorage. It possesses a fortified battery built by the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 authorities in Napoleonic times, following the arrival of the French Armada in 1796. The island was briefly used as a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 air base

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and now has a large oil terminal.

Historical information

In the last few months of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Whiddy became the site of a US naval air station

NAS Whiddy Island

NAS Whiddy Island was a US naval air station during the latter period of World War I. Located on Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay, County Cork, Ireland, it was also known as Bantry Bay Station. The base was built by local contractors. The first US personnel arrived on 12 March 1918 and flight operations...

. The US Navy's

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 Air Wing established a seaplane base on the western end of the island; this became operational on 25 September 1918 when the first two planes arrived. They patrolled an area around Fastnet Rock

Fastnet Rock

Fastnet Rock is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean and the most southerly point of Ireland. It lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland...

. One of the planes crashed on the 22 October 1918, killing one airman. The base had an operational radio station receiving messages from as far away as the USA and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Five planes were based in Whiddy. With the Armistice in November 1918, the rationale for maintaining it was ended and the station closed in January 1919. The following planes were based in Whiddy 1918:

• H16s, Nos. A1072 (crashed 22 October 1918 killing one airman),
• A1078, A1084, A3466, A4047, A4048, these were the pusher
  Pusher configuration
  In a craft with a pusher configuration the propeller are mounted behind their respective engine. According to Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind engine so that drive shaft is in compression...
  
   type of aircraft with the engine and propellor behind the pilot.
• The H16 Large America, planes were made by Curtiss, at Buffalo, New York. They were 46ft. long, a wing span of 95ft two 400h.p. Liberty 12 engines, four Lewis machine guns a bomb load of four 230 pounders a crew of five consisting of a pilot, two observers, a mechanic and a wireless operator.

The island is the site of a large oil terminal constructed in the late 1960s by Gulf Oil

Gulf Oil

Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...

. This was designed to accommodate the largest supertankers sailing directly from the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

.

On Monday, January 8, 1979, a French tanker, the Betelgeuse, was unloading a cargo of crude oil at the terminal when it exploded. The blast and subsequent fire killed 50 people. This was known as the Betelgeuse incident and is considered to be the worst maritime disaster in Irish history. The terminal, which had been operational since 1969, was never fully repaired. It was transferred to the Irish government in 1986, after which it was used to hold the Irish strategic oil reserve.

The ruins of Pilchard Palaces can be observed close to the bank, the pilchard Industry was a source of huge income for the islanders pre-1900

Archaeology

• Early Ecclesiastical Enclosure, Kilmore
• Protestant Graveyard, Kilmore
• Holy Well, Kilmore
• The "Cup and Saucer", a drinking fountain made by American soldiers during World War I, Reenavanny
• Redoubts, Reenavanny built 1806/1807 for 100–150 men 8–12 guns
• Tower House, Reenavanny Castle of O'Sullivan Bere collapsed in storm 1920

Townlands

The townland

Townland

A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...

s are:

• Close
• Crowangle
• Gorraha
• Kilmore
• Reenaknock
• Reenavanny
• Tranaha

In Reenahunnick, there is a small population of Wild Island Goats which can sometimes be seen near the road close to the oil terminal.