British naval base until 1938
Bere Island and the Treaty Ports
Bere Island was one of three Treaty Ports — Cobh, Spike Island, and Bere — that remained under British military control after Irish independence. The naval base was substantial — barracks, forts, observation posts, everything needed to anchor a navy. In 1938, the Irish government, under Éamon de Valera, took back all three ports without negotiation. The British, busy with the gathering war in Europe, didn't object. The base was abandoned, the barracks emptied, the military left. The buildings stand now — mostly silent, slowly decaying. The walk to the eastern end of the island passes the old forts and the views are exceptional.
The book that made the pub famous
Pete McCarthy's Bar
Pete McCarthy walked into MacCarthy's Bar in Castletownbere, ordered a drink, and sat down. He came back. He came back again. By the time he left, he'd written "McCarthy's Bar: A Story of Dreams, Friendship, and Guinness" — one of the best travel books ever written about Ireland. The bar itself is simple — old wood, low ceilings, a fire in winter, no music, no tourists on the walls, just proper drinking. McCarthy didn't write about the bar being famous; the book made the bar famous. The bar itself hasn't changed.
The ruins that inspired Hungry Hill
Puxley Mansion and Daphne du Maurier
Puxley Mansion stands in ruins on the Beara Peninsula, inland from Castletownbere. It was built in the 1820s by the Puxley family — copper mining wealth. Daphne du Maurier visited the area and heard the stories — family feuds, violence, money made from the mines. She wrote "Hungry Hill" (1943), a novel following the family across four generations. The house itself is now a ruin — fire destroyed parts, time did the rest. The landscape around it is the real story — wild, rocky, the kind of country that could generate the darkness du Maurier captured.