July 16, 2024

July 16, 2024

From Kenmare, Ireland, we started our drive of the famous Ring of Kerry. This is a circular route following the coastline around the Iveragh Peninsula, the largest of several that extend out southwest from County Kerry. The photographer in me wants to make frequent stops to take a photograph. That is near impossible as there are few easy pullouts along this narrow winding road. I just have to relax and let Aimee enjoy the scenery while I navigate the torturous road.

Our first stop is at Staigue Stone Fort. It turns out to be 2.5 miles up a tight one-lane road. A few days ago I would be panicking. Now I take it in stride and have little problem finding a good spot to pull over so oncoming cars can pass.

Staigue, sitting in an open hillside, is one of many Iron Age forts from almost 2000 years ago that litter Ireland. It turns out Ireland was a lawless place well before the Normans and the English arrived. Every local clan must have needed a place of refuge to stay alive. Staigue is a large circular ring of stones 90 feet in diameter and 20 feet high. There are step stones all around the interior to climb to the parapet. It is very cool and must have taken considerable effort to build.

Our next stop is at Derrynane National Historic Park. This mansion is the former home of Daniel O'Connell. He is known as The Liberator for his efforts in the early 1800’s for Catholic Emancipation securing basic rights for the majority of Ireland. He succeeded well enough that he got elected to the British Parliament. Independence from Britain would take much longer. Having witnessed France fall apart during their revolution he pressed for peaceful non-violent action through the legislature and the courts.

We made a brief stop in Waterville to see a roadside statue of Charlie Chaplin. Apparently he used to vacation in this town regularly. Shortly after we left the main road and travelled the Skellig Ring to see the Kerry Cliffs. It is a little bit of a hike uphill, but the view is spectacular.

We finish in nearby Portmagee where we check into our AirBnB. This is our first time using this room broker.

We have time before dinner so we drive across the bridge to Valentia Island. To our left is the spot where the first transatlantic telegraph cable to Newfoundland was laid in 1858. On the far side are several sets of Tetrapod Tracks on the flat rocks next to the sea. It takes a little imagination to believe these series of holes are footprints made by the earliest creatures to leave the sea some 400 million years ago. Despite that Aimee and I enjoy the little walk. The weather is sunny. Ireland is a glorious place when the clouds clear.

To celebrate the sun, we have a fish dinner outdoors next to the ocean. Aimee orders a Cronin's Cider. This could have been brewed by some of my long lost cousins.