Cork - Gúgán Barra
The following is an extract from Kevin Corcoran's book West Cork Walks O'Brien Press ISBN 0-86278-928-1
... Surrounded by the towering cliffs of heather-clad peaks and endless seas of upland heath, the sixth century hermitage of Saint Finbarr sits on a small island in a mountain-locked tarn ... Within Gougane, many paths meander about the lower slopes, amongst rock-strewn streams and coniferous woods. Others lead to the higher ground where waves of heather, bog myrtle and frothen sweep sea-like across the untouched moorlands ... Now their remoteness and wild ruggedness offer a last refuge to the rare and strange, as well as many more common members of our native wildlife heritage ..