Ring of Kerry

Actually the route around the Iveragh Peninsula, the Ring of Kerry is consistently referred to as Ireland's most scenic drive.  Killarney sits at the north easternmost point of the drive and is the usual kicking off point for the drive.

It takes a full day to circumnavigate the peninsula, even though it's only a little over 100 miles in total.  There will be mountain vistas and sea views along the way (not to mention some Amalfi Coast-like cliffside drops), and several stops to make.

Some of the sights along the way are:

• Glenbeigh, a seafront town where the streets are lined with palm trees and the beach is sandy.  Kerry Bog Village (web site here), a group of reconstructed cottages dating from the 1800's, is located here.  Glenbeigh is also known for its annual festival featuring horse races on the beach.  I love the name of this year's festival president - Mary McGillicuddy.  You can read more about the festival and races here. 

• Cahersiveen, which overlooks Valentia harbor, bills itself as the capital of the Iveragh Peninsula.   The town is famous for being the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell, the "liberator of Ireland"; the harbor was an infamous refuge for smugglers and privateers in the 18th century.   Visit Cahersiveen web site

• Valentia Island was the first place in Europe to have a permanent telegraph link with North America, via an undersea cable in 1857.  In use for 100 years, the cable ran from Foilhomerrum to Heart's Content, Newfoundland.

• Skellig Michael is generally described as "inhospitable".  Michael is one of several islands that make up the Skelligs, and it's famous for the remains of a monastic community that was built there in the 6th and 7th centuries.  There are 600 steps carved into the cliff face (for perspective, the climb up to the dome of the Duomo in Florence has under 500 steps).  The monks abandoned the island in the 12th century.

Discover Ireland's article on the Ring of Kerry

Some You Tube videos on the Ring of Kerry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3A7hSgHQgE&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycgpd4-8FmM

Muckross House

The star attraction of Killarney National Park is Muckross House, built for a wealthy landowner, Henry Arthur Herbert and his wife, the water colorist Mary Balfour Herbert.  The house was begun in 1839, completed in 1843, and donated to the state in the 1930's.

Today the house is a museum featuring locally made furniture, prints, art and needlework alongside non-Irish items.  Visits to the house are by guided tour only; the entrance fee is €7,00 and the house is open until 5:30 PM in October.

Gardens in Autumn

 You can also visit the gardens and workshops where local artisans demonstrate weaving and pottery.

   

 

Not far from the house you will find Muckross Traditional Farms, where traditional County Kerry farm life is demonstrated.  In addition to farmhands working the fields, a blacksmith, carpenter and wheelwright are on hand to demonstrate their trades.

You can read more about Muckross House and the Traditional Farms on their

web site here.

Killarney National Park

Just south and west of the town of Killarney is one of Ireland's six national parks, Killarney National Park.  The park contains 26,000 acres of woods, lakes and mountains, including McGillycuddy's Reeks, the highest mountain range in Ireland.

Admission to the park is free and the main entrance is just over three miles from our hotel.  We don't have a visit to the park on our agenda, but there will be time for you to explore on your own.  A popular way for tourists to get to the park from Killarney town is to take one of the jaunting cars (see prior post).

Lough Leane

The park is known for its three lakes, Upper Lake, Muckross Lake (also known as Middle Lake) and Lough Leane (Lower Lake).  You can take boat rides on the lakes, including a trip to Innisfallen Island on Lough Leane, where you can see the remains of a 12th century Augustinian priory and a small 11th - 12th century Romanesque church.

Innisfallen Island

Closer to town, but still part of the park, is Knockreer house.  This estate was built in the early 20th century to replace the original Killarney House, which was destroyed by fire in 1913.  The former gate house of Killarney House, now called Deenagh Lodge, features a tea house that is said to be a popular spot for both locals and visitors.

Deenagh Lodge

The tea house is a short sixth-tenths of a mile walk from our hotel and Knockreer House, now the home of the park's education center, is another third of a mile from there.

Perhaps the most famous attraction in Killarney National Park is Muckross House and Gardens, which I'll discuss in the next post.

You can read more about the park on their web site here.

Killarney Town

Archaeological sites in Kerry date human habitation in the area going back 9,000 years, but the town of Killarney dates its founding in the 18th century.

Thomas Browne, 4th Viscount Kenmare, is noted on the town's web site as the founder of Killarney.  Over a period of approximately twenty five years he tried various methods to improve living conditions and establish the economy of the area.  His efforts don't seem to have been particularly successful, but he is credited with creating the road system that connected Killarney with more established towns like Tralee and Cork.  (You can read more about the history of the area on the town's web site here.)

Killarney today is the second largest town in County Kerry, with a population of just under 13,000.  The town's economy is based in tourism, with more than one third of the population working in that sector.

Downtown Killarney covers less than one square mile and can be covered in a one hour stroll.  There are a variety of shops and restaurants downtown, and the beautiful St. Mary's Cathedral on the edge of town.

The town rests on the edge of the 26,000 acre Killarney National Park (more about that soon).

You Tube videos here:

http://youtu.be/qHcT3K4nrcU

http://youtu.be/SA9SkyBvqDg

Jaunting Cars

Jaunting cars (sometimes called carts) are the horse drawn carriages that have been transporting visitors around Killarney since Victorian times.  The driver, known as a "jarvey", acts as a tour guide leading tourists around the town or down to the park (Killarney National Park, three miles south of town) and Muckross House. 



When we get to the hotel you'll see that one of the meeting points for the jaunting cars is the circle in front of the Killarney Avenue. 

You Tube video here: 

http://youtu.be/dpAPjLZq4wU

On the road to Killarney

After our stop at the Cliffs of Moher we'll continue on to our hotel in Killarney, approximately three hours south.  We'll make a stop about a half hour before Killarney for lunch in Tralee.  In other words, for those of us who don't sleep on the flight over we'll have time for a good nap during the drive.

While in Tralee we'll take a few minutes to drive by the Blennerville Windmill, the largest working mill in Ireland.  It was built in 1800 but was largely abandoned by 1850; it has been restored and is once again operational, producing five tons of flour per week (according to Frommer's, anyway - I haven't been able to confirm that fact with other sources).

After lunch we'll travel the last half hour to Killarney, where we'll check into our hotel, the Killarney Avenue.  If all goes according to plan we should reach the hotel between 2 - 3 PM.

Cliffs of Moher

We will start touring almost immediately after setting foot on Irish soil.  About an hour after we leave the airport we'll make our first stop, to enjoy sunrise over the Cliffs of Moher.

The cliffs rise 650' out of the Atlantic ocean; if the morning is clear we may be able to see the Aran Islands.  It will likely be a bit chilly and breezy at that hour of the morning, so you'll want to have a sweater or jacket with you.



Although the cliffs are a little out of the way, our arrival morning is the only time we'll be close to them on our trip so we decided early in the morning was better than never.

It will take about an hour to get there from the airport in Shannon; if all goes according to plan we'll arrive at the cliffs at about 9 AM, an hour or so after sunrise. 

There is a visitor center at the cliffs that we'll take advantage of, where you can grab your first cup of Irish coffee or tea.

You can read more about the cliffs and the visitor center on their official web site here.

Some You Tube videos of the cliffs:

http://youtu.be/h_He8jyDjk4

http://youtu.be/zFwGwLFMBcc

Our Hotel in Dublin

On Wednesday we'll transfer to Dublin where we'll spend four nights at the four-star Ashling Hotel, located just across the Liffey from Heuston Station.  We'll be an easy one mile walk from the popular Temple Bar section and a half mile from the Guinness Storehouse.

The Ashing is as modern as the Killarney Avenue is traditional, starting in the lobby.

The rooms are a good size for a downtown hotel and the bathrooms are quite modern.



The public rooms are large and also feature modern decor

You can see the hotel's web site here.





Our Hotel in Killarney

Earlier this year I spent a night in each of the two hotels we'll be staying in while in Ireland.

Our home for the first four nights will be the four-star Killarney Avenue Hotel.  Located right in downtown Killarney and just north of Killarney National Park, the hotel is wonderfully traditional.

You get a sense of the place from the minute you step in the lobby, which is full of wood and warm colors.

The hotel is one of several in Killarney owned by the same company.  I chose it over the other options because I like the feel and the size; with only 66 rooms it is smaller and more personal.  Unlike the larger hotel in the group, the Killarney Avenue doesn't host lots of large tour groups. 

Although the hotel does not have any fitness amenities, we will have full access to the facilities of their sister hotel around the corner, the Killarney Towers.  Even if you aren't interested in swimming, be sure to take a walk over there and check out the indoor pool, it's one of the best looking I've ever seen, with unique architecture.

The dining room of our hotel has a club feel to it, with lots of wood and warm colors like the lobby.



There's also a great pub just off the lobby where we ate a delicious dinner.

To be honest, the rooms are just fine but nothing in particular to write home about.  They are average size and have either one or two beds, a small table and easy chair, and lovely bathrooms. 

 The location of the hotel is perfect, right on the edge of town. 

You can find the hotel web site here.

A couple of books

One of the things I like to do as I prepare for a trip is read books that are set where I'm headed.  Right now I'm listening to Jan Karon's In the Company of Others, an audio book (on CD) that I got from the library.  Although it takes place in Sligo (northwestern Ireland) it is helping me get into the right mood.  Listening to it read to me is fun because I'm getting used to the beautiful Irish brogue.

A few months ago I listened to another book about the history of Ireland, Frank Delaney's Ireland.  It's a bit dense but it tells the history of Ireland in a series of stories, as related by an itinerant storyteller.

I found both of these audio books at my local library.  If you are a member of any of the libraries in Bergen County you can request these books and have them delivered to your local branch.

Welcome!

Welcome to the blog for Christ Church's third annual trip, this year to Ireland!

We'll depart from Newark on Friday, October 12, 2012 and return on Sunday, October 21st.

Our preliminary itinerary follows.  We will visit all of these places, although the exact days may change around a bit due to weather or availability:

Friday, October 12, 2012	§  Depart Newark on United
Saturday, October 13, 2012	§  Arrive Shannon Airport §  Visit Cliffs of Moher §  Check into Killarney Avenue Hotel, Killarney §  Welcome dinner at hotel
Sunday, October 14, 2012	§  Full day tour of Dingle Peninsula
Monday, October 15, 2012	§  Full day tour of Ring of Kerry, including Skellig Michael §  Dinner at hotel
Tuesday, October 16, 2012	§  Full day tour of Cork and Blarney Castle §  Tour Old Midleton Distillery
Wednesday, October 17, 2012	§  Check out of Killarney Avenue Hotel §  Visit Bunratty Castle & Folk Park §  Transfer to Dublin §  Check into Ashling Hotel, Dublin §  Dinner at hotel
Thursday, October 18, 2012	§  Full day tour of Dublin, including the Georgian Squares, Trinity College & the Book of Kells, Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Jail §  Dinner at hotel
Friday, October 19, 2012	§  Half day tour of Boyne Valley, including Bru na Boinne Visitor Center and Newgrange
Saturday, October 20, 2012	§  Half day tour of Wickow, including Powerscourt Castle & Gardens §  Farewell dinner with traditional Irish entertainment
Sunday, October 21, 2012	§  Depart Dublin airport on Continental §  Arrive Newark