Algerians return 4 centuries after village raid

The Algerians are coming back to a coastal village in Co Cork, but this time they’re far more friendly than their ancestors, who were involved in an infamous visit.

Algerians return 4 centuries after village raid

An Arab TV station has recently visited Baltimore to film a documentary on the ‘sack’ of the village by Algerian pirates in 1631, and the owners of the local castle have reported an increase in tourists from the North African country, keen to learn more about the event.

It is quite possible that some of the visitors are directly descended from the estimated 237 villagers who were taken away as slaves by the pirates.

Bernie McCarthy owns the local castle, which houses an exhibition on the sacking of the village. She hopes the documentary being shot by Al Araby will provide a major boost for Baltimore tourism. The castle was a ruin in 1997 when she and her husband Patrick bought it, spending eight years renovating it.

It now opens to the public from March to October and contains information on the area’s history.

Baltimore was founded in 1605 as an English settlement and was the only place in Ireland ever raided by the Barbary pirates.

English authorities recorded that 109 people were abducted by Algerians.

However, that figure is thought to include only English settlers and some historians believe the English didn’t report on the abducted Irish, bringing the total to more than 200.

Those who managed to escape fled to Skibbereen, and Baltimore remained a ghost town for generations afterwards. “We have an exhibit of all the 109 names. But the list was complied by the [English] mayor of the town. The English ambassador in Algiers also recorded the arrival of 109 there. They were English settlers. The English authorities didn’t include the Irish. But a French priest [in Algeria] recorded 235 arrivals,” said Bernie, adding that the day before the documentary was filmed, a group of Algerian tourists visited the castle.

“We have noticed a recent increase in the number of Algerians coming here. We get at least three group visits from them every year and there are also a number of them living in Ireland who come here,” Bernie said.

Village pub the Algiers Inn also commemorates the sacking.

Baltimore Pirate Festival, commemorating the event, takes place on June 16-18.

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