What's the story here?

Baginbun is 6 miles northeast of Hook Head Lighthouse, on the eastern shore of the Hook Head peninsula and the west side of Ballytiege Bay. It is situated close north of Baginbun Head, which is made conspicuous by its Martello Tower. It offers an anchorage with good sand holding beneath a moderately high headland that provides protection from the prevailing winds.

How to get in?

Use southeastern Ireland’s coastal overview for Rosslare Harbour to Cork Harbour for seaward approaches.




Vessels working up close along the coast for the 5 miles between the Hook and Baginbun Head should be careful to avoid Brecaun Bridge. This is a reef situated approximately halfway between Hook Head and Baginbun Head, just under a mile east by north of the small drying harbour of Slade, itself readily identifiable by its square tower. Brecaun Bridge extends over ⅓ mile offshore, with a depth of 1.2 metres at its extremity.




From the initial fix set ½ mile to the northeast, the bay will be readily identifiable and the approach is clear of danger.



It is not necessary for a southern-approaching vessel to adopt the approach line suggested by the initial fix. It is, however, critical to keep well off Baginbun Head, as rocks extend out 600 metres to the northeast from the extremity. A useful local boatman’s waypoint for passing east of Baginbun Head is as follows.

Baginbun Head - clear water waypoint: 52° 10.450’ N, 006° 49.244’ W

This waypoint, or further east of it, will keep a vessel clear of the extending rocks from the headland.





Make towards a comfortable point beneath the headlands and drop anchor according to draught in clear sand. Land on the beach by tender.

Why visit here?

On 1 May 1170, Baginbun was known as Dún Domhnaill because it was once an ancient defensive trading earthwork known as the ‘Fort of Domhnaill’, located across the neck of the secondary headland. On that particular day, any native Irish who happened to be there would have seen two boats approaching the headland and would have made ready to raise the alarm.




It would not have been an exceptional event as the local people were accustomed to raiders along this coast, so they could have been forgiven for thinking it was just another passing incursion: this was very different, however. That day a new epoch in the nation’s history was bearing down on Baginbun from the sea. After Bannow Bay, this was the second coming of the most organised military machine the west had known to date – the Normans. It was from this Baginbun landing that the conquest of Ireland began in earnest.




The Anglo-Norman force was led by Raymond (or Redmond) FitzGerald, who was a relative of the previous landing’s FitzStephen and FitzGerald, as well as Strongbow himself. Known as De Gros (Raymond the large), on account of his great size and strength, he was one of the most valiant and cunning of the Anglo-Norman commanders. His was the fourth landing in Ireland of the invasion force commanded by The Earl of Pembroke, Richard de Clare – better known as Strongbow: De Gros was his second in command. His mission was to secure a landing point for his leader’s fifth landing party and he chose Baginbun, knowing the old promontory fort could serve as a temporary defensive camp before he moved on to attack the nearby, well-defended Waterford.

De Gros had only 10 Knights and 70 archers. These were supplemented by the arrival of, Strongbow’s uncle, Hervey de Montmorency, following behind with equal numbers. On landing, De Gros hastily set about creating a defensive boundary of banks and ditches, with a palisade ditch across the width of the easily defended Baginbun Head. Then he had his men raid the surrounding countryside for cattle, driving a massive herd back behind his defences on the headland, where they had established their camp. This not only provided his small army with supplies, but also served to enrage the Waterford men. They were waiting for the ensuing battle behind their well-defended and supplied walled town, which left them powerless to do anything about the raids. This was what De Gros wanted, as he preferred to coax them into a battle on his terms and use everything he had at his disposal to gain the upper hand.

With the local Chieftans imploring them to take action, the Waterford men and their allies finally decided to make a move on the raiders, relying upon the advantage of their numbers. They quickly gathered their forces and an army of between 1,000 and 3,000 Norse-Irish soon arrived from Waterford. The sheer overwhelming numbers of this army descending upon the small Norman force, likely to have been only between 100 and 200 in total, would have made the Irish confident of a walkover. They had no idea of the formidable force they were dealing with, however, and the well-seasoned De Gros would quickly capitalise on that. The resulting battle was vicious.

De Gros first ordered his small force to launch a frontal attack on the army and then quickly retreat, feigning panic. The untrained Waterford men fell for this bait and, jubilant at the sight of the fleeing Normans, wildly charged after them out along the narrow promontory. With no armour and very poor improvised weapons, they ran unprotected, throwing stones after the seasoned Norman, Welsh and Flemish mercenary forces. When the pursuit unwittingly committed them to the narrow pass leading out to the headland, the Norman archers let fly and wave upon wave of helpless Irish defenders were cut down. Then De Gros stampeded out the massive heard of cattle through the following ranks, scattering them in disarray. Taking advantage of the confusion, the heavily armed knights followed hot on the hooves on the cattle, hacking and cleaving their way machine-like through the routed attackers. By the time the engagement was finished, the bodies of at least 500 Norse-Gaelic dead were strewn over the headland and a further 70 were taken prisoner. They fared little better.

Raymond had hoped to use them as bargaining chips to gain ransoms from various chieftains, but he was to be disappointed. At the time Norman Marcher Lords would take their lovers with them on a campaign, and this was the case of Alice of Abergavenny, who accompanied the landing party. Her knight was killed in the battle and, in a fit of rage, Alice took an axe and set about decapitating all 70 of the Irish prisoners. One by one she took off their heads and dumped their headless bodies over the cliff. For this hot-blooded act she received the name Alice the vicious. This was not uncommon: locals that were captured whilst the army remained on the headland for the following months had their legs broken and were hurled into the sea for sport.




De Gros finally departed Baginbun when Strongbow landed at Passage East on the 23 August with his larger and ultimately highly significant invasion force of 1,200 warriors. Two days later their combined forces took the City of Waterford in a bloodbath of an offensive. Aoife and Strongbow were married at Christ Church Cathedral soon after Waterford was seized. De Gros married Basilia de Clare, Strongbow’s sister, taking the office of standard-bearer of Leinster. He was for some time also chief Governor of Ireland. Raymond died around 1184 and was buried in the Abbey of Molana, on the island of Darinis, on the Blackwater River, in Youghal Bay.




So, Ireland was receiving its taste of the Norman ferocity that had cut its way like a scythe through Europe and had routed the warriors of Harold’s England. Its message was cold and simple: “Acquiesce, or be annihilated”. Surprisingly, the battle fought on this remote headland Baginbun was one of the most pivotal moments of the Norman conquest of Ireland. Had De Gros’s small Norman force been wiped out, it is conceivable that Richard de Clare might have lost heart in the Irish enterprise in which he went on to play a key part. And as news of the Norman successes such as this reached England, more Norman warriors made their way to Ireland. Accordingly, it is thought that this was the decisive battle that would mark the beginning of 800 years of English, and later British, rule in Ireland, inspiring the couplet: “At the creek of Baginbun, Ireland was lost and won”.




Today the extensive defensive earthworks and promontory fortifications that De Gros erected in Baginbun are still discernible. The bay’s very name originates back to the conjunction of the names of his two invading boats, Le Bag and Le Bun – ‘Bagin’-‘bun’. The strategic importance of the area was subsequently marked by the construction of the Lighthouse at Hook Head and Baginbun Head’s Martello Tower between 1804 and 1806, during the Napoleonic period.




From a boating perspective, Baginbun remains little altered and is as good a haven for boaters today as it was for De Gros’s wise seamen. The raised ground above the little cove makes for a sheltered anchorage from which to endure severe southwest to westerly winds.


In addition, it offers a particularly beautiful clear sand and secluded beach, over which the headland provides an equal measure of prevailing wind protection for beachgoers as it does for offshore vessels. A short stroll over the headland presents the even more spectacular beach that lies within the shores of Carnivan Bay. The view from Carnivan Bay over to Slade and Hook Head is breath-taking.

What facilities are available?

There is little at Baginbun, save for a beach with no road access to the shoreline. A 20-minute or 2km walk along country lanes will take you to Fethard-on-Sea. This village is a tourist destination with a mini supermarket, fuel, café and bars.

Any security concerns?

There has never been an issue known to have occurred at Baginbun.

With thanks to:

Declan Hearne, Long term fisherman and retired area Coastguard leader. Photography with thanks to Burke Corbett and Michael Harpur.