Fota Island (Oileán Fhóta in Irish) is a small island in Cork Harbour, Ireland, just north of the larger island of Great Island. The name "Fota" is derived from the Irish "Fód te" meaning warm soil. Fota Island is host to Ireland's only wildlife park — as well as the historical Fota House with ornamental gardens and an 18-hole golf course owned by the "Fota Island Golf Club and Resort".
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Fota House was the former home of the Smith-Barry family (Earls of Barrymore since 1627), descendants of Philip de Barri, who came to Ireland from Wales with the Norman invasion. He was granted Fota and other lands in 1185. The family first resided at Barryscourt Castle, Carrigtwohill, then at Castlelyons where they held extensive lands. Fota House was originally a hunting lodge and became the family's main residence in the 1820s when the architect, Sir Richard Morrison (1767–1849) and his son Vetruvius Morrison (1794–1738),[1] created the present regency mansion with over 70 rooms.
The last member of the Smith-Barry family to live in Fota House was the Hon. Dorothy Elizabeth Bell (1894–1975), daughter of Arthur Smith-Barry (1843–1925). She continued to develop and record the plant collections in the gardens and in the arboretum, which her family had started in the 1840s. On Mrs Bell's death in 1975 the estate was sold to University College Cork.
During the latter part of the last century, the house fell into some disrepair — culminating in the collapse of a ceiling. This closed the house to the public for some time. It was restored using EU, Irish government and private funding, prior to reopening in early 2002. In December 2007, the new Irish Heritage Trust[2] took over responsibility for Fota House.
Fota Gardens are in the grounds of Fota House. They are highly acclaimed, consisting of a structured arboretum, walled garden and terraces.no Many rare and exotic shrubs and trees exist, along with an extensive rose garden.
Fota's arboretum and gardens are what they are today thanks to the Smith-Barry family who recognised the significance of Fota's sheltered location and warm soil — "Fota" is derived from the Irish "Fód te" meaning warm soil — perfect for the growing and cultivation of rare trees and exotic plants.
The development of the arboretum and gardens coincided with the great plant hunting expeditions around the world bringing back wonderful specimens from places such as the Orient, South America and the Pacific coast of northwest America. Many of these rare plants found their way to Fota whitin a few years of their discovery.
In the 1840s, John Smith-Barry showed considerable foresight in generously spacing the trees, enabling them to thrive as they do today with stunning seasonal displays of colour. The family also recorded the plant collections throughout the 19th and most of the 20th century and this important work of cataloguing, conservation and development continues today.
Many of these plant collections are arranged in association with the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, and other botanic institutions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, Scotland.
In 1996 the State were given control of the arboreum and gardens. They are now administered by the Office of Public Works in conjunction with the Irish Heritage Trust.
See also: Historic Cork Gardens.
Fota Island Golf Club lies in the heart of a 780-acre estate (originally the Fota House grounds) integrated with woodlands and landscape. Its Golf Course consists of three challenging par 71 championship courses in the traditional mode comprising the Deerpark, Belvelly and Barryscourt courses and is one of Ireland's many scenic and challenging golf settings. The Golf Club boasts three championship standard golf course configurations. The original Deerpark (Par 71) along with Belvelly (Par 72) and Barryscourt (Par 73).
Golf was first played in Fota Island in 1886. Since then it was continually developed and became one of the premier locations in golfing. In 1993, Fota Island Golf Club was further developed by Christy O'Connor Junior (Irish Ryder Cup), and Peter McEvoy (two-time British Amateur Champion).
Fota Island is considered as essentially a resort course and hosts a number of tournaments which includes the Irish Club Professional Championship and the Murphy's Irish Open golf tournament in 2001 and 2002. Fota Island was then purchased by the Killeen Group (owners of Mount Juliet Golf & Spa Hotel in Kilkenny). Since then, developments have started to take place and the course has been upgraded to European Tour standards.
In November 2004, Fota Island Golf Club was purchased by the Fleming Group. The Fleming Group also improved the course by renovating some of the holes and also maintained the greens and reseeded the trees surrounding the golf course. In 2006, the Fleming Group completed construction of the 5-star Fota Island Hotel & Spa as well a large self-catering lodge development in Fota Island to complement the golf course. In 2011, Fota Island Golf Club hosted the PGA Europro Audi Cork Irish Masters which was won by Paul Reed of Bristol and Clifton Golf Club.
Opened in 1983 by the President of Ireland, Dr Patrick Hillery, Fota Wildlife Park has the primary aim of conservation of global wildlife. It is a joint project of the Zoological Society of Ireland and University College Cork.
Fota Wildlife Park has more than 70 species of exotic wildlife in open natural surroundings. The animals who live there include ostriches, giraffes, kangaroos, zebras and antelope. Just about all of the animals who inhabit the island are allowed to roam throughout more than 202,000 square metres (50 acres) of mature grassland, with the exception of the cheetahs and other predators, which have strongly fenced enclosures.
Many of the animals at Fota are under serious threat of extinction. The cheetah is an example of this. There are only 12,000 cheetahs in their natural habitat. Fota Wildlife Park is one of the breeders worldwide for this endangered species, as well as being a source of many other zoo animals around the world.
Ring-Tailed Lemurs, Capybaras (the largest rodent in the world) and other animals are free to roam around the park.
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