Reluctantly bidding farewell to Dingle, we set off for Kenmare and the land of my grandparents. We passed through part of the ‘Ring of Kerry’ on our journey – narrow winding roads, stunning coastal views, deep woodlands – and lots of huge tourist buses! We had a quick look through Killarney and visited the magnificent cathedral – and yes Mum, Greg actually entered a church! We even lit some candles for you!
Still in County Kerry, our B&B for the next two nights in Kenmare was ‘The Old Church’ and was located across the road from the ancient church ruins. I thought some of my ancestors may have been buried in this cemetery, but the tombstones were too old to read and it was also not a Catholic church.
The purpose-built B&B was very spacious and comfortable and our welcoming hostess, Helen, was really helpful and interested in our travels. She nearly fainted when we told her of our adventure to the ‘Priests Leap‘ which is 6km up a very high narrow winding road out in the middle of nowhere the previous night. We actually found ourselves in the clouds, with a crucifix up high on the edge of the misty mountain precipice – it was very spooky! We were curious as to the name of this spot and asked Helen at breakfast the next morning. She gasped ‘You never!!‘ when we mentioned where we had gone and thought we were mad. I was the back-seat passenger for this trip through the night mist and admittedly felt a little nervous, but the boys wanted a little adventure and this little drive certainly delivered.
The next morning we visited the Catholic cemetery where, with Bruce’s help, Greg and I found our Great Grandfather’s grave overlooking the Kenmare River… not a bad final resting place.
The town of Kenmare is colourful with lots of lovely little shops, galleries, pubs and restaurants. We visited the Information Centre in which Greg (on a previous trip) had discovered a photo dated 1894 with a group of residents. There was a man in the centre of the photo that looked like Greg’s twin. Even the lady that worked there was amazed at the uncanny resemblance. This man could quite possibly have been our Great Grandfather!
We had a whole day to explore the lesser known ‘The Ring of Beara‘, which is the peninsular south of the ‘Ring of Kerry‘ which was our original intended route. This area is much less travelled by tourists and we enjoyed exploring little detours finding ourselves in isolated, remote areas of stunning scenery.
We were following a sign to a stone circle when we came across a world of vivid green, sun-dappled, shamrock-laden, mossy woodlands with crystal clear streams and tumbling waterfalls. Was this for real? It felt as though we were in the middle of a children’s fairytale movie set. This spot was one of my highlights.
Mysterious, ancient stone circles were scattered throughout our journey – one of these found in a sheep farmer’s paddock with the cutest little two-week old black lambs.
Then there was Healy Pass with its tiny winding road, wonderful views, streams and waterfalls. Greg actually braved the icy water and had a dip! One of the villages we drove through (Eyeries) had featured in a beautiful photo in a gallery we had visited the previous afternoon. Every building along the street a different colour – very striking in it’s remote setting.
(20-21 May)
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