The History of Bandon

In 1869 George Bennett published The History of Bandon and the Other Principal Towns in the West Riding of Cork, an enlarged edition of his original History of Bandon. [1862].  It has long been out of print, and, given its importance to the published material on the history of West Cork, we felt  the book was deserving of a new edition.  It contains much information which is now lost in its original form - details of settlers, merchants, the farming community, correspondence and so on, which help to build up an account of a thriving local economy and community, important to the area and to the broad picture of Irish history. The inclusion of material on the other principal towns in the region gives the book a wider interest.

George Bennett , the author, was born in 1824, the son of merchants whose connection with the town goes back to the early 1600s.  After schooling at Bandon Grammar, he went up to Trinity College Dublin, graduating in 1847.  On his return he became active in local affairs, and an agent for the Third Earl of Bandon’s political campaigns. He married Catherine Harrison, and the couple had four children.   In the 1870s, along with two of his sons, Bennett emigrated to the US, settling in Oregon, where several other Bandon townspeople had gone before him. His son was later to say “ …land in Oregon was cheap, gold was for the panning, and the climate was better than at home.”  The small town he chose was subsequently renamed Bandon in his honour [and he was often referred to locally as ‘Lord Bennett of Bandon’], and is today a thriving community on the Pacific coast.  George Bennett died there in 1900, and is commemorated in the local churchyard.

For this venture, we have joined forces with Inspire Books of Skibbereen, to jointly publish a limited, numbered edition of 200 copies, handsomely bound with the Bandon town crest and motto blocked in gold on the front cover. The motto means “With the help of God, little things grow”. 

The book, which would make a handsome gift for anyone interested in local history, was published on 30 November 2011. It has 572 pages, three plates and a new introductory essay on George Bennett.  Hardbound in dark red buckram, with the Bandon town crest in gold to the front, gold titling to the spine.

The price for the limited edition is €90 per copy. 
Orders to us at Schull Books, Ballydehob, Co Cork, tel/fax 028 37317,  email