Garnish Island is a small island in Bantry Bay a few hundred yards from Glengarriff Harbor. A 'Martello Tower', thought to be the first ever built, is located at the highest point of the island. It was purchased in 1910 by Annan Bryce, who in partnership with Harold Peto, designed and built the garden we see today. It is the home to many fine plants, shrubs and trees, many subtropical as the island is warmed by the Gulf Stream; it has a warm, wet and humid climate. It was left to the Irish people in 1953 and is now maintained by Dúchas, the Heritage Service.