Beaufort, County Kerry


Beaufort is a small village that lies on the banks of the River Laune in County Kerry, in the South West of Ireland. It consists of a post office, three public houses, one supermarket, parish hall, guest houses and thirty private houses with a population of about 160.
Beaufort sits at the foot of Ireland's highest mountain Carrantuohill
Edward Day, Archdeacon of Ardfert from 1782, lived here until his death in 1808. His estate later passed to his nephew, the Reverend John Robert Fitzgerald-Day, who lived at Beaufort from the 1840s to his death in 1881.
In 1911, Kalem Compagny, an American moving-picture company spent several weeks in the village shooting films. Among the company: the director Sidney Olcott, actress Gene Gauntier, Alice Hollister and actors Jack J. Clark, Robert Vignola, JP McGowan, the cinematographer George K. Hollister. The first film was Rory O'More. Followed by The Colleen Bawn and Arrah-na-Pogue adapted from Dion Boucicault's plays.
Olcott returned to Beaufort each summer until 1914. He rented the hotel owned by Patrick O'Sullivan who also owned a pub, which still exists today: The Beaufort Bar.

Historical Sites

Over 100 historical sites have been identified and mapped in the area including the Dunloe Ogham Stones, two castle ruins, and Dunloe Castle, built in 1207. The ruins of two ancient churches still stand in the parish today. One, situated in Kilgobnet in O'Sheas Land and associated with St. Gobnait, the other in Churchtown burial ground, which is more than five centuries old. Ballymalis Castle, located 4 km to the northwest of Beaufort, is a National Monument.
The Beaufort Bridge over the River Laune was built in 1837.