The Old Head of Kinsale and the Lusitania: what you can and cannot visit

The Old Head of Kinsale is the long, narrow headland that points out into the Atlantic south of the town, and it is one of the most dramatic stretches of coast in Cork. It is also the place most associated with one of the worst maritime disasters of the twentieth century. Before you drive out there, it is worth understanding exactly what you can and cannot see, because the headland is not the freely walkable cliff path that a lot of people assume.

The Lusitania

On 7 May 1915, the Cunard liner RMS Lusitania, on her way from New York to Liverpool, was struck by a single torpedo fired from the German submarine U-20 a short distance off the Old Head. She sank in about eighteen minutes. Nearly 1,200 of the roughly 1,960 people on board died, including a large number of women and children and many American citizens. The sinking caused outrage internationally and is usually cited among the events that turned American opinion towards entering the First World War.

The Old Head is the closest point of land to where she went down, and the bodies and survivors were brought in to Cork harbour towns in the days that followed. That proximity is why the headland, rather than anywhere else, became the place where the disaster is remembered.

The Signal Tower and Lusitania Museum

The public attraction out at the Old Head is the Old Head Signal Tower and Lusitania Museum. The tower itself is a Napoleonic-era signal tower, over two hundred years old, one of a chain built around the Irish coast to watch for a French invasion, and it has been restored by a community-led heritage project into a small museum. It is billed as the first Signature Discovery Point on the Wild Atlantic Way.

Inside you will find the story of the signal towers and, more poignantly, Lusitania artefacts: a deckchair, plates and cutlery recovered in connection with the ship, and a memorial garden with a bronze panel carrying the names of everyone who was aboard on the final voyage. The roof of the tower gives wide views along the coast. The site is seasonal, reopening for the main visitor season and running reduced days at the edges of the year, so check current opening days and admission before you drive out. There is also a small café on the grounds.

In season the project runs a guided Lusitania Talk and Walk on certain afternoons, starting from the memorial garden, lasting around an hour and a half for a modest charge, with the local historian leading. If you want the full story rather than a quick look, that is the way to get it. Check days and book ahead in summer.

What you cannot visit

This is the part people get wrong. The tip of the Old Head is private. Since 1989 the very end of the headland, the most dramatic ground with the lighthouse and the highest cliffs, has been owned and run as Old Head Golf Links, a private members and visitor golf course. There is no general public access to the point. You cannot simply park and walk out to the lighthouse along the cliffs, and the courts upheld the owners' right to close it. Limited access for anglers, birdwatchers and the like has been arranged by prior arrangement over the years, but it is not something a casual visitor can rely on.

So set your expectations accordingly. What is open to the public is the Signal Tower and Lusitania Museum, the memorial garden, the café and the views from the tower roof, which are genuinely worth the trip. What is not open is the tip of the headland itself. If you arrive expecting an open cliff walk to the lighthouse you will be turned back at the golf club barrier, so make the museum and signal tower the plan, and treat the view out towards the point as something you admire rather than walk to.