ByRoute 1.3 Co. Cork (S/W) & Co. Kerry (S)
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Kenmare Bay / River
Kenmare Bay (An Ribhéar) is 30 miles long, 12 miles wide at its mouth and narrowing gradually as it separates the Beara and Iveragh peninsulas and their mountain ranges; at their junction the Roughty River (An Ruachtach) flows into the sea. (Photo – Sonastours)
Due to its shape the bay is commonly called the Kenmare River, from which its modern Irish name comes. Contrary to widespread belief, it is not an estuary, but a ria (drowned river valley). On some maps, Kenmare Bay is the name given to the ocean mouth of the Kenmare River.
The bay used to be called Inbhear Scéine / Inver Sceine, recorded in the C11th narrative Lebor Gabála Érenn as the arrival point of the mythological Irish ancestor Partholón. It has provided shelter for seafarers through the ages, whether in Viking longships, Spanish galleons, British men-of-war or the vast modern Irish Naval Fleet.
Kenmare Bay is very accessible along its length with many harbours, inlets and creeks. Of the various islands, the most attractive are probably Dinish, Scarriff and Horse Islands.
A few fishing boats still scrape the bottom of the bay for the last of the overexploited wild fish stocks. Aquaculture installations are increasingly common. Yachts visit the bay every summer, and sometimes a few very lucky souls have the bay to themselves, fishing, sailing or just exploring the beautiful and varied coast.
Kenmare (Co. Kerry / Southwest)
Kenmare (Neidin – “little nest”) (winter pop. 2100), set at the head of narrow Kenmare River / Bay between the Caha Mountains and Ireland’s highest mountain range, the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks, is an exceptionally attractive town, with excellent hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs, several superb restaurants and quite a few very good pubs. (Photo – www.snaphappyross.co.uk)
Kenmare is probably the prime example in the West of Ireland of an Anglo-Irish landlord’s “planned” community, with wide streets, limestone buildings and decorative plasterwork on its colourfully painted houses and shops – many of which sell quality artisan craftwork, but also “Oirish” tourist junk, as Kenmare is on the Ring of Kerry.
Kenmare History
This part of Ireland has been inhabited since at least the Bronze Age (2,200 BC – 500 BC), as evidenced by local archaeological finds.
The area then known as Ceann Mhara (“head of the sea”) was raided by Vikings in the late C9th anf C10th.
Sir William Petty, the Cromwellian surveyor who had been granted 30,000 acres / 125km2 of land in the region, laid out the first town and invited 815 English Protestant immigrants to settle in 1670 to establish an Industrial Colony, but they fled in 1687.
His descendant William Petty-FitzMaurice, (1737 -1805), remembered locally as the Marquess of Lansdowne, but better known internationally as Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister at the height of the American Revolutionary War, commissioned an American Loyalist, Henry Pelham, to design the town of Kenmare.
A traveller visiting Kenmare during the Great Famine wrote “The poor people came in from the rural districts in such numbers, in the hopes of getting some relief, that it was utterly impossible to meet their most urgent emergencies, and therefore they came in literally to die in the open streets, actually dying of starvation within a stone’s throw of the inn.”
William Steuart Trench first became associated with the Landsdowne estate in Kerry in 1849, when he compiled a detailed report on its distressed condition in the wake of the Great Famine for the proprietor, the 3rd Marquess of Landsdowne. As agent, he devised a scheme of assisted emigration which between 1850 and 1855 shipped some 4000 of the population from Kenmare to America.
The Kenmare Stone Circle, aka the Shrubberies and the Druid’s Circle, near Cromwell Bridge, within easy walking distance of the town centre, is an unusual oval / egg-shaped ring of 15 significant rocks, two now prostrate, around an impressive boulder burial with a capstone estimated to weigh some seven tonnes. This is believed to be the largest Stone Circle in SW Ireland.
Dunkerron Castle, on a rocky eminence in a leafy glen on the western outskirts of the town, was an O’Sullivan Mór stronghold; built in 1596, the now ruined complex incorporates an early Norman tower used by the clan chieftains for centuries. The O’Sullivans destroyed the castle themselves rather than allow Cromwellian troops to take it. The property was included in the land granted to William Petty, and the title Baron Dunkerron is still held by his descendants, the Marquesses of Lansdowne. The last Gaelic Prince of Dunkerron, Dónal O’Sullivan, died in 1754 without heir.
Famine Memorial in old Kenmare Cemetery. (Photo – Terryballard)
St Patrick’s church (CoI) dates from 1858. As the only Protestant place of worship remaining in Kenmare, the church also welcomes members of other denominations. (Local Methodists meet regularly in a hall in nearby Templenoe).
Holy Cross church (RC), designed by Charles Hansom and consecrated in 1864, has an ornate interior and beautiful stained glass windows. Behind the church is a Poor Clare Convent, founded in 1861, where nuns including author Sr Mary Cusack were responsible for introducing the art of lacemaking to the town.
Kenmare Heritage Centre, housed in a pleasant Victorian dwelling, provides exhibits on the history of the town including a once-thriving local lace making industry. Demonstrations on the art are also on view as well as displays of prize-winning lace.
August 15th, the Roman Catholic Feast of the Assumption, is a traditional fair day in Kenmare.
The Kenmare Park Hotel is internationally renowned as superb.
The Sheen Fall Lodge and the Brook Lane Hotel are also very highly regarded, while the Lansdowne Arms, a renovated C18th property with Victorian features, is a friendly and atmospheric 3-star establishment.
Seal watching cruises from Kenmare take 2-3 hours on a 65-passenger vessel, with a hilarious and informative commentary by the skipper.
Kenmare, the western end ofByRoute 5, is within easy reach of Tuosist, the Co. Kerry part of the Beara Peninsula; a tour of the whole region is extremely highly recommended. Kenmare is also close to Blackwater Bridge on the southern shore of the Iveragh Peninsula, a tour of which is equally recommended, especially outside the high tourist season.
Moll’s Gap (Co. Kerry / Southwest)
Moll’s Gap derives its name from Molly Kissane, who ran a shebeen here at the time the Killarney / Kenmare road was constructed across MacGillicuddy’s Reeks (c.1820).
Moll’s Gap is probably the most famous panoramic viewing point on the Ring of Kerry. Although the vistas are indeed magnificent, the place tends to be so jammed with tourists in summer that it is difficult to enjoy.
Moll’s Gap, the start / end of the Internal Tour of the Iveragh Peninsula, is just above Ladies’ View overlooking the Lakes of Killarney, within easy reach of Killarney town.
Molly’s descendant John Kissane owns a local farm that specialises in breeding increasingly rare native Irish mountain sheep; visitors are invited to adopt an animal
Black Valley
Black Valley is a remote glacial valley of exceptional beauty and tranquillity in MacGillicuddy’s Reeks, surrounded by mighty summits classified as munroes by mountaineeers. This was the last community in Ireland to be electrified.
The ancient woodlands for which the valley was famous were consumed for charcoal over two centuries ago, while the rhododendrons that now cover its slopes were only introduced in 1880. Orange-berried arbutus trees are the jewel in the area’s botanical crown, and broad-flowered butterwort (carniverous!), London Pride and various ferns, liverworts and mosses are also to be found.
Bears, wolves and elks have long been extinct, while the last wolf in Ireland was killed locally c.1710. Golden Eagles, considered a pest 150 years ago, have also disappeared, but may be reintroduced in the same way as the still unusual white tailed sea eagle was in 2007.
In addition to spectacular peregrine falcons, look out for unspectacular but very rare Iberian Greater Spotted Slugs.
Purple Mountain / Sliabh Corcra is a massif comprising three main peaks: Purple (832m /2,730ft) Tomies (735m) and Shehy (571m). Before the C19th, the whole massif was referred to as Tomish / Toomish. Samuel Lewis (1837), explained that Purple Mountain is “so called from the colour of the shivered slate on its surface“.
The Gap of Dunloe
The Gap of Dunloe is another extraordinarily beautiful glaciar valley, rather too famous for its own good. (Photo by irish-photographs.com)
The Gap is traditionally explored on horseback, by horse-drawn jaunting car or pony trap, but is also ideal for hardy walkers and cyclists. The old red sandstone cliffs are popular for rock climbing.
The road is poor and motorised traffic in the minority, especally during the tourist season, so patience and care are required of drivers.
Kate Kearney’s Cottage, named for a legendary C19th beauty who used to sell illegal poteen, is now a friendly family-run restaurant and traditional music and dance venue.
Tomies Wood is all that remains of a once vast and very ancient oak forest; it still claims to be the oldest and biggest of its kind in Europe. This is a good place to spot both native red and Japanese Sika deer, and is home to many interesting birds, especially owls
Beaufort (Co. Kerry / Southwest)
Beaufort (pop. 200) is an unremarkable crossroads village in a very scenis setting, adjacent to the River Laune. The parish contain-s over 100 sites of archaeological / historical interest, such as earthen Ring Forts and church ruins, but most are in poor condition.
The Beaufort Bar reputedly serves the best pint of Guinness in the county, and also has a good restaurant.
Beaufort House, an attractive Georgian edifice incorporating parts of a small mid-C17th castle, set in beautiful woodlands overlooking the River Laune, has several cottages attached; the house and cottages are all available for holiday rental.
Ballymalis Castle, a late C16th Tower House on the banks of the River Laune, commands fine views of Ireland’s highest mountain, Carrantuohill. Although traditionally counted as an O’Mahony castle, it is more likely to have been built by the Ferris family. Interesting features include triple-mullioned windows on the third floor, some with depictions of doves. The floors have vanished, but narrow winding stairs survive.
Beaufort is only 5km from Killarney Town.
