Holiday in Ireland May 2010
Photo of the ruins of the Castle which gave Castleisland its name. Built in 1226 by Geoffrey Maurice (or de Marisco), who was the Lord Justice of Ireland during the reign of King Henry III. The main ruin is the de Marisco tower, located behind some private houses at the western end of the town, on the Killarney Road. We were give a challenge by the courier on our coach, to find this building and photograph it. Myself and my friend got right into it (we went down a private road until we were right up to it to take the photo.) Very strange where it is standing and very little of it. We stayed in this town for four nights. The main street is said to be one of the widest in Ireland.
Can't for the life of me remember where this one is, but left it in because its a nice view :( Somewhere on the Dingle Peninsular .......
The Gallarus Oratory. This stone building is around 1300 years old, built without any mortar at all. In the shape of an upturned boat the stones have been placed so that they slope in to form the roof. A very clever building which is totally weather proof after several centuries of buffeting by Atlantic gales. The building is rectangular, built of gritstone from the area. It is approximately 8m long by 5m wide and 5m high. The oratory was built by early christian farmers who used it as a place of worship.
View of the Blasket Islands from the Dingle Peninsula.
These islands are now unhabited and have been since 1953 when the remaining 22 inhabitants left for the mainland. Constant migration of the young people meant that the population dwindled over the years.
Beehive huts dating from around 1000 BC to house small families. There are a lot of these around the Dingle Peninsular some of them enclosed in a walled settlement. Just one of two thousand archaeological sites on the Dingle Peninsular. 
This stalagmite has been named the Wine Bottle.
This formation is known as the Family. Legend has it that a young couple, Grainne (pronounced Gronya) and Dermot fell in love, but there was another man interested in Grainne following her wherever she went. However, she loved no one but Dermot, so they got married and set up home far away from the area, in a cave. In the photo you will see Grainne and Dermot with three children, but in the background on the left of the picture is the man who had wanted Grainne before she married. He has caught up with them in the cave! Awwww!
This is the Madonna stalagmite.
This is the largest stalagmite in the caves
And this, the largest Stalactite.
Stalactites and Stalagmites in Crag Cave, Castleisland. Crag Cave is formed of limestone, and was discovered in 1983 by divers. It has since been fitted out with walkways and lots of lighting to enable visitors to see these wonderful formations.
View of the Skellig Islands from the Ring of Kerry.
The largest of these is known as Skellig Michael and the smallest as Small Skellig. Skellig Michael is well known as the site of a well-preserved monastic outpost of the Early Christian period. Small Skellig is home to around 27,000 pairs of gannets.
Bronze statue of Charlie Chaplin at Waterville, County Kerry. This town was a favourite holiday resort for Charlie Chaplin and his family.
A wheelbarrow full of peat
The Blacksmith's cottage.
Inside one of the cottages.
One of the cottages at the Kerry Peat Bog Village Museum - Glenbeigh. First stop was the Red Fox Inn which is situated right next to the little village where we had a traditional Irish coffee. Delicious! The cottages have been constructed as perfect replicas of the 18th century villages. The stone cottages have thatched roofs and one room divided into a sleeping corner and a living corner. They are heated with an open fire ( and I mean open! No real chimney for the smoke to go up through so when the fire was lit the house was full of smoke and the smell of peat burning. Quite a pleasant smell, but I wouldn't want to have been in there for very long! The village is still being added to by the proprietor of the Inn, John Mulvihill and his family. They also had a couple of Kerry Bog Ponies, but I didn't take a photo of them. John is responsible for bringing the Kerry Bog Pony back from the edge of extinction.
The statue of King Puck stands in the town of Killorglin which is the gateway to the Iveragh Peninsula. There is a Puck Fair Festival in August every year when a male goat (puck) is crowned king. It is said that a white goat ran down the mountain into the village to warn the inhabitants that Oliver Cromwell and his army were advancing on the town and the fair started from then. Every year a group of people go up into the mountains and catch a wild goat. This goat is brought back to the town and the Queen of Puck Fair (a girl from 6th class from the local primary schools - the queen changes every year) crowns the goat "King Puck". The goat is then put into a small cage on a high stand in the middle of the town. From this moment on the fair has started there is singing and dancing but mainly drinking. Pubs stay open until 3.00 AM although last call is at 02:30. On the opening day there is a horse fair and on the second day there is a cattle fair. In the main parking lot a company called Birds Bizarre has a collection of various portable rides and rollercoasters. The fair ends with a firework display which can be fully appreciated from the old iron railway bridge.
More views from the Ring of Kerry. This is the name given to the road which goes right round the Iveragh Peninsular
Photo taken from Ladies View, Ring of Kerry, in the Killarney National Park. The name apparently stems from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during their 1861 visit. 
Derrynane Bay viewed from one of the photo stops on the Ring of Kerry route. Taken from the Coomacista mountain pass between Waterville and Derrynane. This area is also the most likely place to find the natterjack toad. It is the only one resident in Ireland and prefers to live in County Kerry.
This is a picture of one of the cottages in the small village of Adare. Built by the Earl of Desmond in the early 19th century, they were rented to tenants. Some of the cottages are arts and crafts shops today. It has been described as being Ireland's most picturesque and prettiest village in Ireland.
Photo of the ruins of the Castle which gave Castleisland its name. Built in 1226 by Geoffrey Maurice (or de Marisco), who was the Lord Justice of Ireland during the reign of King Henry III. The main ruin is the de Marisco tower, located behind some private houses at the western end of the town, on the Killarney Road. We were give a challenge by the courier on our coach, to find this building and photograph it. Myself and my friend got right into it (we went down a private road until we were right up to it to take the photo.) Very strange where it is standing and very little of it. We stayed in this town for four nights. The main street is said to be one of the widest in Ireland.
Can't for the life of me remember where this one is, but left it in because its a nice view :( Somewhere on the Dingle Peninsular .......
The Gallarus Oratory. This stone building is around 1300 years old, built without any mortar at all. In the shape of an upturned boat the stones have been placed so that they slope in to form the roof. A very clever building which is totally weather proof after several centuries of buffeting by Atlantic gales. The building is rectangular, built of gritstone from the area. It is approximately 8m long by 5m wide and 5m high. The oratory was built by early christian farmers who used it as a place of worship.
View of the Blasket Islands from the Dingle Peninsula. These islands are now unhabited and have been since 1953 when the remaining 22 inhabitants left for the mainland. Constant migration of the young people meant that the population dwindled over the years.
Beehive huts dating from around 1000 BC to house small families. There are a lot of these around the Dingle Peninsular some of them enclosed in a walled settlement. Just one of two thousand archaeological sites on the Dingle Peninsular. 
This stalagmite has been named the Wine Bottle.
This formation is known as the Family. Legend has it that a young couple, Grainne (pronounced Gronya) and Dermot fell in love, but there was another man interested in Grainne following her wherever she went. However, she loved no one but Dermot, so they got married and set up home far away from the area, in a cave. In the photo you will see Grainne and Dermot with three children, but in the background on the left of the picture is the man who had wanted Grainne before she married. He has caught up with them in the cave! Awwww! 
This is the Madonna stalagmite.
This is the largest stalagmite in the caves
And this, the largest Stalactite.
Stalactites and Stalagmites in Crag Cave, Castleisland. Crag Cave is formed of limestone, and was discovered in 1983 by divers. It has since been fitted out with walkways and lots of lighting to enable visitors to see these wonderful formations.
View of the Skellig Islands from the Ring of Kerry. The largest of these is known as Skellig Michael and the smallest as Small Skellig. Skellig Michael is well known as the site of a well-preserved monastic outpost of the Early Christian period. Small Skellig is home to around 27,000 pairs of gannets.
Bronze statue of Charlie Chaplin at Waterville, County Kerry. This town was a favourite holiday resort for Charlie Chaplin and his family.
A wheelbarrow full of peat
The Blacksmith's cottage.
Inside one of the cottages.
One of the cottages at the Kerry Peat Bog Village Museum - Glenbeigh. First stop was the Red Fox Inn which is situated right next to the little village where we had a traditional Irish coffee. Delicious! The cottages have been constructed as perfect replicas of the 18th century villages. The stone cottages have thatched roofs and one room divided into a sleeping corner and a living corner. They are heated with an open fire ( and I mean open! No real chimney for the smoke to go up through so when the fire was lit the house was full of smoke and the smell of peat burning. Quite a pleasant smell, but I wouldn't want to have been in there for very long! The village is still being added to by the proprietor of the Inn, John Mulvihill and his family. They also had a couple of Kerry Bog Ponies, but I didn't take a photo of them. John is responsible for bringing the Kerry Bog Pony back from the edge of extinction.
The statue of King Puck stands in the town of Killorglin which is the gateway to the Iveragh Peninsula. There is a Puck Fair Festival in August every year when a male goat (puck) is crowned king. It is said that a white goat ran down the mountain into the village to warn the inhabitants that Oliver Cromwell and his army were advancing on the town and the fair started from then. Every year a group of people go up into the mountains and catch a wild goat. This goat is brought back to the town and the Queen of Puck Fair (a girl from 6th class from the local primary schools - the queen changes every year) crowns the goat "King Puck". The goat is then put into a small cage on a high stand in the middle of the town. From this moment on the fair has started there is singing and dancing but mainly drinking. Pubs stay open until 3.00 AM although last call is at 02:30. On the opening day there is a horse fair and on the second day there is a cattle fair. In the main parking lot a company called Birds Bizarre has a collection of various portable rides and rollercoasters. The fair ends with a firework display which can be fully appreciated from the old iron railway bridge.
More views from the Ring of Kerry. This is the name given to the road which goes right round the Iveragh Peninsular
Photo taken from Ladies View, Ring of Kerry, in the Killarney National Park. The name apparently stems from the admiration of the view given by Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting during their 1861 visit. 
Derrynane Bay viewed from one of the photo stops on the Ring of Kerry route. Taken from the Coomacista mountain pass between Waterville and Derrynane. This area is also the most likely place to find the natterjack toad. It is the only one resident in Ireland and prefers to live in County Kerry.
This is a picture of one of the cottages in the small village of Adare. Built by the Earl of Desmond in the early 19th century, they were rented to tenants. Some of the cottages are arts and crafts shops today. It has been described as being Ireland's most picturesque and prettiest village in Ireland.
Im so jealous dawn, Hubby and I had our honeymoon in that area and went to the peat bog village in its infancy it has changed so much. We didnt go down the caves tho I hate being underground but fantastic pictures Thanks for bringing bk some great memories xxxxxxx
ReplyDeleteHugs Shellie
Hi Shellie,
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming in and looking at the pics. I am happy I reminded you of your honeymoon and hope you get to go back one day.
I wasn't too sure about the caves either, but they are quite airy and its easy to see your way around. Bit wet in places, but well worth seeing. The temperature down there is a constant 10o so not too cold as I expected.
Hugss
Dawn