Gugán Barra (Gougane
Barra)... Where Allua of Songs
rushes forth like an arrow...".
The moody mountain lake of
Gougane Barra is the source
of the River Lee in this
dramatic glacial valley. It was
here, it is said, that St. Finbarr
set up a hermitage, under
craggy mountains gushing
with streams and rivulets and
surrounded by pine forests.
on a tiny island in the middle
of the lake, before he moved
downriver to establish his
Cork City monastery.
prayer and traditional annual
pilgrimage from Ballingeary
village in honour of St. Finbarr
but nothing remains of the
original hermitage. The ruins
on the island were built in the
1700's by a Carmelite priest,
Father Denis Mahony. There is
also a small stone
romanesque-style chapel at
the edge of the lake. This is a
relatively modern building.
Ireland's first forest park was
created here across 1,000
acres above the lake. The
Gougane Barra Forest Park
with its conifers, birch trees,
rowans and arbutus is
certainly a fascinating place to
explore.