Goleen Parish is a beautiful haven of hills, cliffs, beaches and wild flowers. The main activities are farming and tourism. There are good services, facilities and amenities for everyday living and vacations.

Goleen is the last parish in Ireland's southwest before America. The most southwesterly point in Ireland is Mizen Head. Goleen village was established in the last 19th century as a permanent development of an old cattle fair - all the houses were built with shop fronts. St. Patrick's Church had its 150th anniversary in 2005.

The Barking Pot
Before synthetic fibre fishing nets were introduced in the 1950s, nets were made of hemp or cotton. The seining net was “barked” (cured) in molten “cutch” to preserve it at the beginning of the fishing season and then regularly through the summer and finally after the season closed. The Barking Pot was filled with boiling water, the bark added and the whole lot stirred. The nets were then put steeping in the mixture before being left to dry on the banks nearby. This now rare example has been recently restored by the Goleen & District Community Council and the Heritage Council