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A scenic sojourn in the west of Kerry  West
Kerry is the home of Irish tourism they’ve been entertaining visitors
here for more than 250 years, and they’re pretty good at it.
True, places like Killarney can score high on the paddywhackeray scale
there are shops here selling tat so tasteless they’d make a garden-gnome
salesman blush.
But the towns do have real charm, and the landscape is amongst the most
glorious you’ll find anywhere.
On the dramatic edge of Western Europe, washed by a tempestuous coastline,
the South-West counts Dingle Peninsula, the Iveragh Peninsula and the
Beara Peninsula amongst its treasures. It’s here that Ireland’s
highest mountains sweep down to the Atlantic, to be greeted by swells
rolling across 3,000 miles of deep blue ocean. No gombeen hats or leprechaun
hats needed here to attract the discerning visitor.
Being such a des res by the sea has inevitably brought the modern world
to Kerry. The boreens which thread through this peaceful landscape are
now surrounded by that predictable product of the Celtic Tiger economy
bungalows designed on the lines of South Fork ranch-mansions. But they
can’t detract from the unique, wild beauty of this place. And, when
all’s said and done, people do have a right to comfortable homes,
whatever the tourists might think.
One of the most striking features of the South West is the abundance of
fuchsia, which grows with crimson passion everywhere. Laneway, boreen
and byway is festooned with delicate pink flowers, called round these
parts ‘God’s tears’. But although the flowers appear
fragile, the hedges provide an effective wind-break in this land where
‘a fine soft day’ might mean that the gale force wind has
dropped to a more manageable stiff breeze of 40mph.
West Kerry has a surfeit of natural blessings the Ring of Kerry is majestic,
the Lakes of Killarney are awe-inspiring, and Fungi the Dolphin (current
address Dingle Bay, Co. Kerry), is Ireland’s best known marine resident.
Probably the only animal in the world to have founded his own multi-million
pound industry, this particular bottle-nosed dolphin has shown up for
business in Dingle Bay every day since 1984. He was probably even consulted
in the recent controversy over whether the town should officially be called
Dingle or An Daingean Uí Chúis.
At the other end of the animal scale, West Kerry boasts its own mollusc,
the Kerry Slug, which is pleased to call itself on formal occasions the
Greater Spotted Slug or Geomalacus maculosus.
No wonder our ancestors believed this land was blessed. Ancient Christian
sites such as The Skelligs and the Gallarus Oratory are witness to the
fact that Christianity arrived here very early doors. Some 1,400 years
ago the fledgling religion took a hold, and Ireland was soon to emerge
as a land of saints and scholars with implications for Christians throughout
Europe.
Kerry is a stunningly beautiful place. But it’s superfluous to
even bother saying that. Everybody knows it is as Brendan Behan put it
most succinctly: “To praise the Lakes of Killarney,” he said
“is a piece of impertinence.” You know it’s breathtaking,
you’ve heard the songs about it, you’ve seen it on the telly
all you have to do is pack your bag and go there.
Killarney
Killarney is famous the world over, more because of the unsurpassed beauty
of its surroundings than the presence of any must-see architectural or
historical sight within the town boundaries. Set in a deep valley in the
MacGillycuddy Reeks beside the Lakes of Killarney, the town of Cill Airne,
(‘Church of the Sloes’) would have been a fairly typical Irish
country town, but for the extravagance of its backdrop.
The town is dedicated to tourism with the exception of Dublin there
are more hotel beds in Killarney than in any other Irish town or city.
In amongst the B&Bs, souvenir shops, pubs, cafés, pony traps
and jaunting cars, however, are one or two real points of interest. St.
Mary’s Cathedral, built in the Gothic Revival style usually called
“Planters’ Gothic” was designed by Alexander Pugin and
is the ideal place to seek refuge from the hurly-burly outside. Opposite
the Franciscan Church is a memorial to the Four Kerry Poets of the 17th
and 18th centuries.
Killarney has over the last few decades become the craic capital of the
South West. Nightspots are going full throttle seven days a week during
the summer months. Popular destinations include Mustang Sallys, McSorleys,
Scruffys, Folklore, Charlie Foleys and the Grand Hotel.
Tralee
The history of Tralee is basically the history of the Desmond family,
the big noise in the town since the Middle Ages. The last melancholy episode
of the family ended with the beheading of the Earl himself, and said head
being sent to Queen Elizabeth I. For more information see the excellent
Kerry County Museum in the Ashe Memorial Hall. Very imaginative exhibitions
trace Irish history back to 500BC.
Tralee is a handsome town with a fine 19th century Dominican Church.
For the less ecclesiastically minded, the Tralee-Blennerville Steam Railway
is a must for railway enthusiasts and a maybe for those less inclined
that way. Also look out for the Crimean and Indian Mutiny memorials outside
the courthouse. These are reputed to be the inspiration for the song the
Kerry Recruit.
Although the best known song about the town is William Mulchinock’s
Rose Of Tralee, the most poignant is surely the Banna Strand. About Sir
Roger Casement, the song contains the beautiful lines:
And the wild waves sing his requiem,
On the lonely Banna Strand. Visit this rugged coast when some heavy duty
weather is moving in and you’ll hear the wind howl as inconsolably
as any bereft, Kerry widow.
The scenery round here is melancholy, atmospheric and surrealistically
magnificent. Dingle Bay, the Ring of Kerry, the Beara Peninsula, the Stack
Mountains, the Slieve Miskish Mountains, and of course Tralee Bay all
within easy reach, and all capable of moving you to music, tears or laughter.
Being a popular touring resort, accommodation and refreshment are easily
come by. As for cafés and restaurants Tralee may be approaching
MFN maximum feasible number of catering establishments per head of population.
Possibly only Kinsale can rival it in the restaurant stakes (no pun intended).
For pubs the situation is much the same the craic is steaming along in
dozens of establishments every night. A tiny sample might include Seán
Óg’s for traditional music and turf fires, the Pikeman Bar
in the centre of town for both eating and drinking, and the Fiddler’s
Bar near the Brandon Hotel for meeting a cross-section of the cosmopolitan
crowd that gathers in the town of a summer’s evening. For a spot
of high thespian culture check out what’s on at the Folk Theatre
of Ireland at the Siamsa Tire Theatre hard by the tourist office.
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