Castletownbere (Irish: Baile Chaisleáin Bhéarra),[2] or Castletown Berehaven, is a port town in County Cork, Ireland.

[citation needed] This should not be confused with Dunboy Castle – two miles west of the town – which was the seat of the O'Sullivan Beare family.

Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare, together with other Gaelic lords and with Spanish aid, rebelled against the English Crown.

[6] In 1885, the harbour was a testing site for the development of the Torpedo ram when the warship HMS Polyphemus undertook a simulated attack on a fleet at anchor off the town.

Naval Air Station Berehaven Ireland on 29 April 1918 to operate a Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) Kite balloon base during World War I.

[7] At Furious Pier, beside the golf course, on 14 May 1921 two soldiers were wounded and Privates Hunter, McCullen, Edwards and Chalmers – all of the King's Own Scottish Borderers – were shot dead by Irish Republican Army men led by Michael Og O'Sullivan.

There was also an engagement between the IRA and Black and Tan members of the Royal Irish Constabulary just outside the town that day but no casualties were sustained.

Poorly-located temporary crew facilities were in use for many years but a new building and moorings were brought into use on 19 May 2013 which significantly reduced the time taken for the lifeboat to put to sea.

[10] Accordingly, even after the establishment of the Irish Free State, the Royal Navy continued to maintain its presence at the forts and batteries around Castletownbere and on Bere Island (together known as Berehaven).

Berehaven remained under British sovereignty until 29 September 1938 when, pursuant to the Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement of 25 April 1938, the territory was ceded to Ireland.

Unfortunately the owner was killed in a plane crash in the Welsh mountains while returning to Ireland in the early 1970s and the holiday village was never fully completed.

It was run by his wife Silvia until 1977 when Waterfall House and the holiday village were bought by the Van Etten family – supermarket owners from North Holland in the 1970s.

The Van Etten family briefly ran the now defunct Wheel Inn whilst residing in Waterfall House.

The flagship is badly damaged in the fray, so Commodore Aubrey is pleased when two Royal Navy ships appear from Bere Haven, having heard the cannon fire.

After tending all the wounded ashore, a local friend of Dr Maturin assumes he is there to see his wife, staying with a relative of her first husband, where the two have a joyous reunion, ending the novel on a high note.