Sherkin Island
A melting pot of culture, life and art
Sherkin’s location scores well on several fronts. It’s got all the seclusion of an island hideaway, yet lies just 10 minutes from Baltimore by ferry. It attracts a milder climate (when frost hits the lawns of Baltimore, you can find green grass out here), yet boasts stunning Atlantic scenery.
Little surprise, then, that so many non-islanders have made Sherkin their home. The summer months, in particular, see crowds from far and wide flocking to the island - with the result that the ancestral hub of the O’Driscoll clan (their ivy-clad castle lies just above the pier) is today a melting pot of culture, life and art. Sherkin is known as the Island of the Arts, and even offers a Visual Arts Degree Programme, and work by the island’s many artists and designers is sold at the Island Crafts Centre in Baltimore.
Sherkin Fact File
Location: Roaringwater Bay, Co. Cork. The ferry port of Baltimore is roughly 42km (50mins) by road from Bantry, and 98km (1hr 45mins) from Cork.
Size: 4.8km x 2.4km. Sherkin can be visited in a day, but you won’t be disappointed with an overnight stay - many visitors have even made their homes here!
Population: 100+
Facilities: B&Bs, self-catering, restaurant, art gallery, coffee /craft shop, pubs, community centre,beaches, library.
Top 3 Activities: Arts, adventure, sailing
Festival highlights: Sherkin family regatta (July), Summer Arts Festival
Getting there: Ferries sail daily from Baltimore, year-round. Sailings take 10 minutes.
Contact Sherkin Ferry +353 28 20218; +353 87 2638470
www.sherkinferry.ie
Getting around: Sherkin richly rewards walkers; but taxis (summer) and buses (year-round) are also to hand.
Find out more: www.sherkinisland.ie or www.westcorkislands/sherkin
Did you know?
There’s a modern day trend on Sherkin – where people get married in the island’s little church, and crack open the champag
Map of Sherkin Island
Click/tap on a map pin for more information
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