Blasket Islands
The Blasket Islands are a now uninhabited group of islands off the westerly tip of the Dingle Peninsula.
The most famous of these is the Great Blasket Island, which was inhabited until 1953 by a small Irish speaking fishing community.
The richness of the Gaelic language and culture of the island is now preserved in what is known as the ‘Blasket Island Library’ a collection of 20 books of Gaelic literature, as exemplified in the writings of Peig Sayers, Tomás Ó Criomhthain, Muiris Ó Súilleabháin and others.
It is possible to take a boat trip from Dunquin (a village on the Slea Head Drive) to the island, with its beautiful beaches and its deserted village.
Kerry's Built and Literary Heritage
Kerry offers much more to its visitors than its scenery, it has a diverse built and literary heritage. Carraigafoyle Castle, near Ballylongford in North Kerry is a very fine example of the former.
There is evidence on the landscape of 6,500 years, of man’s activities within the County. This can be seen in its ancient monuments, field boundaries, Anglo-Norman castles, Medieval towns, ecclesiastical architecture, Georgian architecture, vernacular architecture, and ‘big houses’.
Listowel Writers’ Week, Ireland’s oldest literary and arts festival, has its roots in the extensive literary tradition of North Kerry. The most celebrated of its writers are George Fitzmaurice (1877-1963), Maurice Walsh (1879-1941), Bryan MacMahon (1909-1998), John B. Keane (1928-2002) and Brendan Kennelly (1936).
Kerry's Towns and Villages
Kerry 4807 km² has a population of circa 148,000 (2016). It is an area rich in Irish culture and heritage. The Irish language remains the vernacular of the West Kerry Gaeltacht, which centres on the town of Dingle. It is a county of 8 towns and 67 villages.
Tralee the County town, with a population of circa 23,691 (2016), owes its origin to the foundation of an Anglo-Norman Borough (a settlement with a Charter to trade) in the 13th century. Dingle also appears to be an Anglo-Norman foundation, its coastal location making it viable as a port.
Listowel, developed around Listowel Castle, built in the 15th century.
Killarney was established in the 17th century but only began to grow and develop after Viscount Kenmare began to promote the tourism industry in the mid-18th century.
Kenmare, Kerry’s only ‘planned town’ was laid out in 1775 by the Marquis of Lansdowne.
Castleisland and Killorglin, though both locations of Anglo-Norman castles, show no evidence of a town developing until the 19th century.
Caherciveen also developed along with the Coast Road in the 19th century.
Ladies' View, Killarney
Kerry is renowned worldwide for its, mountain lake and coastal scenery. Therefore, when it comes to What to See, the possibilities are endless. Killarney is renowned worldwide for its beautiful scenery, as is Dingle, the Slea Head Drive, the Ring of Kerry, the Ring of Beara and the Wild Atlantic Way.
Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and three of their children visited Killarney in 1861 (August 26-29), as guests of the Earl of Kenmare, at Killarney House and the Herbert’s, at Muckross House. The Queen’s ladies- in-waiting, visited a well-known beauty spot on the road between Killarney and Kenmare, which so captivated them that to this day it retains the name ‘Ladies View’.
Skellig Michael
Skellig Michael is a rock, which towers 218m above the sea, 12km west of the Iveragh Peninsula. Sometime between the 6th and 8th centuries a community of ascetic monks founded a monastery on its pinnacle.
During Mediaeval times, Skellig Michael was renowned throughout Europe as a place of pilgrimage.
In 1996 it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Latterly scenes from Star Wars VII, The Force Awakening were shot on Skellig.
The Monastic site is accessed via three flights of steps (618 in total). Boat trips to the island are available from Portmagee.
Valentia Island
Valentia Island one of Ireland’s most westerly points lies off the Iveragh Peninsula.
It was the eastern terminus for the first commercially viable transatlantic telegraph cable, which operated between it and Heart’s Contest, Newfoundland from 1866-1966. Also, to see is a fossilised tetrapod trackway, which is preserved in Devonian rock, about 385 million years old. Slate from the slate quarry has been used to roof amongst other prominent buildings the British House of Parliament.
Valentia is also home to the former residence of the Knight of Kerry Glanleam House, with its subtropical gardens, which are stocked with plants from South America, Australia, New Zealand, Chile and Japan.
The island lighthouse, one of the great lighthouses of Ireland, is open to the public during the period April to September. There are two villages on the island Knightstown and Chapeltown. It is accessible by ferry and bridge.