Clonakilty, Cork, Ireland

The nearest town to the Galley Head Lighthouse is Clonakilty. It's a pretty town of just under 5,000 and has a number of nice restaurants and shops that we took advantage of while we were staying at the lighthouse.

Michael Collins, who was the Director of Intelligence for the IRA, lived in Clonakilty and attended the local boys' national school. He is widely regarded as one of Ireland's leading historical figures. He gave many an oration from O'Donovan's Hotel on the Main Street of Clonakilty.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception (Catholic) is a large building in Early French Gothic style, designed by George Ashlin and completed in 1880. There is also an old Presbyterian Church, built in 1861, taken over and used since 1924 as a local Post Office, but still fully retaining its former outward appearance as a church, The local lore is that a pastor of the Presbyterian Church liked the Catholic community so much that he converted to Catholicism and the Presbyterian Church closed. This is, after all, NOT Northern Ireland.

Their web site is here and the TripAdvisor reviews are here. Their wikipedia site is here.

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