Never Enough Fun

Glenbeigh, where our cottage was located, was on the north end of another penninsula, called Iveragh Penninsula.  One of the most popular drives in Ireland is the 110-mile road around the penninsula, called the Ring of Kerry.  Although we ultimately drove the entire Ring, we decided it would be interesting to drive across the penninsula through the Killarney National Park to the town of Killarney.  The road through the park includes the Gap of Dunloe, a very scenic, but narrow road through some of Ireland’s mountains (2000-3000 ft.).  

Our trip through the mountains ended at the town of Killarney, where we visited Muckross House, a Tudor style mansion with 65 rooms, where Queen Victoria once stayed on a trip to Ireland in 1861.

Next day we decided to go further east and south to County Cork and the seaside town of Kinsale where we stayed at a B&B called the Old Bakery

However, we still had a portion of the Ring of Kerry to cover, and as part of that, we found the best ancient fort we had seen. It dates from 1000 B.C., and is constructed with rough stones without mortar. The walls are 13 ft. thick at the base.

After our night in Kinsale at the Old Bakery, it was time to head to Limerick (30 minutes from the Shannon airport) where we spent our last night within easy access to the airport. On the way, we passed through County Tipperary and town of Cashel, where we were able to view a medeival fortress and cathedral called the Rock of Cashel. It dates as far back as the year 360.

We had a great time in Ireland. Fortunately, Jed and Chelsey were able to accompany us so Jed could do all the left-hand driving
and a myriad of other details, which he worked out with Geri. Thus, I could just relax and try to enjoy, especially on the days I wasn’t feeling all that great.

At the recommendation of my cousin Marty Reeder (who spent two years in Ireland), we flew into Shannon and spent our time exploring the West,       Southwest, and South. First, we went to Galway, which is about half way up (north) the west coast.  There we stayed in a bed and breakfast (B&B),   close to Galway Bay.  

After a full Irish breakfast the next morning, we headed south toward County Kerry, where we had rented a cottage in the little town of Glenbeigh as a base of operations for the next three days.  On the way south we explored  the Burren, a remote, desolate looking, moonscape area sprinkled with old rock forts and stone age burial sites.

Further down (south) the coast are some well-known sheer cliffs known as the Cliffs of Mohr.  These cliffs are 600-700 feet above the Atlantic.  Because there have been a number of people who have died by venturing too close to the edge in high winds, the government has installed fences to prevent folks from doing so.

We arrived at our cottage rather late in the evening, and since we were all suffering from jet lag, we didn’t get out until after noon the next day on which we decided to explore the Dingle Penninsula, which was just north of us. Some interesting things there were ring stone forts consisting of a circular stone wall enclosing a group of beehive huts, essentially stone igloos, which provided shelter for small families from 1,000 B.C. to as late as 1200 A.D.

An interesting thing about these stone structures and many remaining fences is that the stones were used for structures and fences without the aid of mortar, and they are still standing today. Today the fences are covered with plants so it is not obvious from a distance that they are built of stone. But the hillsides are divided into fairly small fields bordered by these stone fences.

Sadly, we were now halfway through our Ireland Adventure.