Blasket Islands
Heritage Centre – located in the small fishing village
of Dún Chaoin, the setting for the film, "Ryan’s
Daughter", the heritage centre displays material connected
with the wonderful literary tradition of the islands and the farming
techniques and transport methods employed throughout the ages.
Celtic and Prehistoric Museum –
situated between Ventry and Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula,
this small museum boasts a collection of artifacts from the Stone
Age through Viking times, together with fossilized dinosaur eggs.
Crag Cave – situated close
to the town of Castleisland, is Crag Cave, a limestone cave system
with brilliant clusters of stalagmites and stalactites, running
for over four miles. A thirty-minute guided tour is time well
spent.
Home of "The Liberator"
Derrynane House – set on a 300-acre
wooded estate, Derrynane House was home to Ireland’s Liberator,
Daniel O’Connell. The well-preserved house is now a museum
filled with O’Connell’s personal possessions and furniture,
as well as a chapel-room, complete with altar.
Dingle Peninsula – located
west of Tralee, the Dingle Peninsula, speckled with an array of
small villages where Gaelic traditions, language, crafts and the
art of storytelling still survive, is one of the most scenic areas
in Ireland. The Dingle Library, located in Dingle Town, displays
a fascinating collection of printed material relating to local
history.
Dunbeg Fort – located near
Ventry on the Dingle Peninsula, this striking Iron Age construction
is set on a 60-foot cliff and comprises four defensive walls and
an inside stone wall sealing off the promontory. An underground
escape passage, situated at the entrance connects with the interior
of the fort, where people and livestock were placed when the fort
was under threat from local tribes.
Gallarus Oratory – located
a mile from Smerwick Harbour, just north of Ballyferriter, is
one of the best-preserved early Christian church buildings in
Ireland. Built between the 9th and 12th centuries, its form resembles
that of an upturned boat. The structure measures about 9 by 15
feet, with a small window in the east wall and a narrow door on
its west side.
Kate Kearney’s Cottage –
situated in the picturesque Gap of Dunloe, a tourist institution
in itself, Kate Kearney’s Cottage was originally an old coaching
inn but is now an ideal halting place for jaunting cars, motorists,
cyclists and walkers before continuing to the other side of the
Black Valley.
Kerry Bog Village Museum –
located east of the village of Glenbeigh, the Kerry Bog Village
Museum features traditional 19th century thatched cottages and
a blacksmith’s forge.
Killarney National Park – situated
to the south of Killarney Town, Killarney National Park is a nature-lover’s
dream. The National Park comprises over 25,000 acres (40 square
miles) of mountains, woodland, waterways and gardens and is home
to Ireland’s only surviving wild herd of native Red Deer.
The Lakes of Killarney are the main attractions, with the highest
range of mountains in Ireland, Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, providing
the magnificent background.
Killorglin – located west of
Killarney, Killorglin’s status as a tourist destination has
much to do with the annual "Puck Fair", a three-day
festival that takes place each August. A ritual event involving
the enthroning of a goat, dressed in ribbons and rosettes is the
main drawing card of the event. Two reasons for this strange custom
have been put forward; the first points to a pagan origin, while
the second sees it as commemorating an occasion when the stampeding
of animals warned of the approaching Cromwellian forces.
Ladies View – located on the
Ring of Kerry, Ladies View is one of the finest panoramic viewing
points of the entire Killarney valley. The viewing point derived
its name when Queen Victoria and her lady companions stopped here
to admire the view during a visit to the area in 1861.
National Park Scenery
Lakes of Killarney – situated
in the National Park, the world-famous Lakes of Killarney comprises
three individual lakes. Lough Leane, measuring some five miles
long and with over 30 small islands, is the largest; Muckross
Lake lies in the middle; while the Upper Lake is also peppered
with magical islands, each filled with a pleasing variety of trees
and shrubbery.
Muckross Abbey – occupied by
the Franciscans in 1448, the abbey was suppressed during penal
times. The surviving ruins include a 15th century nave, a magnificent
window, a belfry tower and south transept. The striking cloisters,
which have 22 arches set about an open court, are rendered more
dramatic by a giant yew tree reputedly dating from the abbey’s
beginning over 500 years ago.
Muckross House, Gardens and Traditional
Farms – central to the National Park, Muckross House
was built in 1843 and is one of Ireland’s leading Victorian
mansions. Today, the house serves as the Kerry Folk Museum and
offers a series of craft workshops. The gardens are truly magnificent,
while the traditional farms, comprising a labourer’s cottage,
blacksmith’s forge and carpenter’s workshop, provide
a vivid representation of rural life in Kerry in the 1930’s.
Rattoo Heritage Museum – located
in the village of Ballyduff, the museum contains local archaeological
finds and houses exhibits covering the history of the area throughout
the ages. The displays include a Bronze Age ferry boat carved
from a split oak trunk. On the other side of Ballyduff is the
Rattoo Round Tower, a well-preserved tower dating from the 10th
or 11th century.
View of the Ring of Kerry
Ring of Kerry – this coastal
route from Killarney to Kenmare is one of the most famous areas
in the entire island of Ireland. Taking you along winding coastal
roads through the towns of Killorglin, Cahirciveen, Waterville
and Sneem, the route provides some of the most stunning scenery
imaginable.
Ross Castle – situated on the
Muckross Estate, the 15th century Ross Castle was built by the
O’Donoghue Ross chieftains and was the last castle to surrender
to the Cromwellian forces. Legend maintains that the uneasy spirit
of the castle’s founding chieftain rises on a white horse
from the lower lake every May.
Skellig Heritage Centre – situated
on the coast at Portmagee, this heritage centre is a popular attraction.
The background to the monastic occupation of the island is explained
through an audiovisual presentation, while the centre also illustrates
the lives of lighthouse-keepers, who worked there between 1820
and 1987.
Skellig Rocks
Skellig Rocks – lying some nine
miles beyond Valencia Island, this is one of the outposts credited
with helping Christian monastic civilisation survive the Dark
Ages. The Great Skellig, an enormous mass of rock rising some
650 feet from the Atlantic, contains the ruins of an early Christian
settlement with a small church, a larger church and several burial
enclosures.
Staigue Fort – situated just
outside the village of Caherdaniel, is the site of one of Ireland’s
finest archaeological remains. A 2,000-year-old dry-stone fort
built in the form of a circle and enclosing a space 30 yards wide,
the structure has massive walls and was apparently built for defensive
purposes.
Torc Waterfall – situated just
outside the town of Killarney, where the Owengariff River cascades
through the wooded Friar’s Glen and into the Muckross Lake,
this is one of the finest natural attractions in the Killarney
region
