Old Head of Kinsale
Old Head of Kinsale features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Cork. Give it roughly ~90 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type nature
- Suggested visit ~90 min
- Cork Cork guide
About Old Head of Kinsale
A dramatic clifftop headland jutting into the Atlantic, topped by a lighthouse, and the site where the ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in May 1915.
Old Head of Kinsale is one of the most dramatically beautiful promontories on the Irish coast, a narrow finger of ancient limestone and sandstone cliffs jutting over 5km into the Celtic Sea south of Kinsale town. The headland is topped by a lighthouse that has guided mariners past this treacherous point since 1853. The headland achieved tragic global fame on 7 May 1915, when the RMS Lusitania, the fastest and most luxurious ocean liner of its day, was struck by a single torpedo fired by the German submarine U-20, just 18km from this headland. The ship sank in just 18 minutes; of the 1,962 people aboard, 1,198 died, including 128 Americans. The sinking shocked the world and played a significant role in bringing the United States into the First World War. The surrounding seascape of dramatic cliffs, sea caves, and crashing Atlantic waves is extraordinarily beautiful.
Did you know? The RMS Lusitania sank just 18km from this headland on 7 May 1915, she went down in only 18 minutes after being torpedoed, taking 1,198 lives including 128 Americans.
How long is a visit to Old Head of Kinsale?
Set aside roughly ~90 min for Old Head of Kinsale. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Old Head of Kinsale worth your time?
Old Head of Kinsale is among the 22 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Cork, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Cork
Hear the story of Old Head of Kinsale
Preview the Cork tour free in the Gingerguide app.