Portmagee
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| Portmagee An Caladh |
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WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
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| Irish grid reference V370730 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Munster | |
| County: | County Kerry | |
| Population () | ||
Portmagee ('An Caladh' in Irish) is a village in County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. The village is located on the west coast of Ireland, on Kerry's Iveragh peninsula south of Valentia Island. The name in Irish means 'the ferry', referring to its purpose as a crossing point to the island. Access to Valentia Island is now via a bridge from Portmagee.
The English name Portmagee (or Magee's Port as it was formerly known) comes from Captain Theobald Magee, a notorious 18th Century smuggler. Having served in the army of King James as an officer, Magee 'retired' to a life of merchant shipping between France, Portugal and Ireland. Thanks to the intricately chisled coast around the South West, his trade in contraband spirits, textiles and tea and tobacco was extremely hard to police and therefore extremely profitable. He married Mrs. Bridget Morgell, the widow of a rich Dingle merchant and also the daughter of the then MP for County Kerry, Mr. Thomas Crosby.
Being related to the best smuggler in Ireland can't have sat too easily on Crosby's shoulders and there is some suspicion that Magee's death in a Lisbon monastery was due to some exile imposed by the powerful MP. However, his wife, and his sons continued the family business of smuggling.
The village also serves as a departure point for tourists travelling to visit 'Skellig Michael', an island off the coast featuring a 6th century monastic settlement.
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