Several explanations of the name have been offered: A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published by Samuel Lewis in 1837, states that at the time, Sneem consisted of a harbour, a collection of houses, a church, a chapel and a "constabulary police force".

[5] Former French president Charles de Gaulle visited Sneem in May 1969, and a monument to him now stands in the village's North Square.

Derryquin Castle was an 18th-century stone-built country house, now demolished, in the Parknasilla estate close to Sneem.

Designed by local architect James Franklin Fuller, the house comprised a three-storey main block with a four-storey octagonal tower rising through the centre and a two-storey, partly curved wing.

Rossdohan Island and the remaining estate have a mixture of tree ferns and exotic plants still extant, many dating from the late 1800s.