Fenit Harbour

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Fenit Harbour is the port of Tralee, the administrative capital of County Kerry, in the south west of Ireland. It is the only commercial port between Foynes and Cork. Located on Tralee Bay, between Kerry Head to the north and Brandon Head to the south, the harbour is a mixed use harbour catering for commercial traffic, fishing boats and leisure craft.

Fenit is a small village about 10km from the town of Tralee in County Kerry, in the South West of Ireland. The harbour in Fenit is located on the North side of Tralee bay, just south of the Shannon Estuary, and is connected to the village of Fenit by a causeway approximately 0.5miles long as shown below. The bay is enclosed from the Atlantic by the Maharee spit which extends northwards from the Dingle Peninsula.

The harbour has a 130 berth marina for boats from 6m to 15m with an approach depth of 5m which provides access at all tidal levels. The minimum depth of water is 3m. At present the marina is full and has an extremely lengthy waiting list. The main deep sea pier is 175m long with extensive storage facilities available. Regularly accommodating 15,000 tonne ships, the port is not a very active one, with about 12 shipments per year. This is almost totally due to the export of container cranes, from Killarney, which are shipped all over the world.

Fenit has a population of 435 while nearby Tralee Town and its suburbs have a population of 22744. Tralee Bay Sea Angling Club, the largest sea angling club in Ireland, has it's clubhouse in Fenit Harbour. Tralee is a major tourism destination and has seen some €55 million of tourism investment over the past several years.

Coordinates: 52°17′N 9°51′W / 52.283, -9.85

[edit] History

Saint Brendan the Navigator was born in close proximity to what is now Fenit Harbour

Spanish Armada: the sloop Nuestra Senora del Socorro (75 tons) anchored at Fenit, in Tralee Bay on the coast of Kerry, where it was surrendered to crown officers. The 24 men on board were taken into custody and marched to Tralee castle. On the orders of Lady Margaret Denny, they were all hanged from a gibbet.

Jeanie Johnston: in the mid 1800s, the sailing ship "Jeanie Johnston" traded out of Tralee, transporting emigrants to the USA and Canada. In 2000 a replica was built in Fenit Harbour

During the 1916 Rising, Roger Casement was landed from a German submarine, just north of the harbour. The Aud failed to land arms there.

During the Irish Civil War, in August 1922, 450 Free State troops were landed from the ship Lady Wicklow, to combat Republican forces in Tralee

Gun Running: the trawler "Marita Anne", out of Fenit, was arrested off the coast, carrying weapons and muitions destined for the Irish Republican Army.