Armada anchor

December 1796 - Theobald Wolfe Tone led an armada in an attempt to bring revolution to free Ireland from English rule. Unfortunately he was betrayed by the incumbent of Bantry House who was quite all right with the status quo, thank you very much, and December is not a great month for sea-borne invasions, so many of the ships foundered.

"We were close enough to toss a biscuit ashore" Theobald was quoted as saying - a statement that, to me, seems peculiarly inapt for the circumstances, all things being considered.

This huge anchor is thought to belong to one of the ships. It sits proudly in 'Wolfe Tone Square' - near a statue of the man himself who is considered to be a hero.

There are some very good biscuits to be had from Bantry Market, so all was not lost.