[5] Having served in the army of King James as an officer, Magee 'retired' to a life of merchant shipping between France, Portugal and Ireland.

[6] Thanks to the many inlets around the South West coast, his trade in contraband spirits, textiles and tea and tobacco was hard to police and therefore very profitable.

[5] The village serves as a departure point for tourists travelling to visit 'Skellig Michael', an island off the coast featuring a 6th-century monastic settlement.

[8] The "Old Year" celebrations originated in 1727 when a ships crew arrived in Portmagee from Nantes during a heavy winter storm three days after Christmas.

The locals tentatively gathered to watch assuming it to be a Banshee but discovered the crew of the French ship carrying torches on a procession through the village.

Silence fell until a newly dressed man clad in white and a top hat lept out of the darkness and the music started up playing livelier.