Kerry places of interest

• Valentia Island, Ring of Kerry
• North Kerry Museum
• Dingle Brewery
• Harry Clarke Stained Glass Window, The Diseart Centre, Dingle
• Live theatre at the Seanchaí Centre, Listowel
• Muckross House & Traditional Farms, Killarney
• Skellig Michael, The Ring of Kerry
• Tarbert Bridewell, North Kerry
• Ross Castle, Killarney
• Crag Cave, Castleisland, North Kerry
• Two spectacular forts, Cahersiveen, Ring of Kerry
• Carrigafoyle Castle, North Kerry
• Seanchaí Centre, Listowel, North Kerry
• Listowel Castle, North Kerry

Ring of Kerry - Valentia Island
Lots of us dream of going to a sub-tropical island surrounded by blue seas and basking in sunshine. While the sunshine isn’t always guaranteed, Valentia island does have sub-tropical gardens at Glanleam and it certainly has magnificent coastal scenery.

Getting there
The island is very accessible, being linked by a continuous ferry at Reenard just south of Cahersiveen town, the five minutes crossing lands you in the picturesque village of Knightstown. Alternatively you can travel a few miles south of Cahersiveen and turn off to the right for Portmagee and cross the bridge to the island.

Things to See and Do
Valentia is about 10 kms (6 miles) long with lots to see and do.

• For walkers there’s the short walk to Bray Head and the World War look-out tower. Magnificent view of Portmagee Harbour and the Skellig Rocks.

• I meet visitors from time to time that praise the Cliffs of Moher, and they are spectacular, but I say to them, “have you walked the cliffs on the northern side of Valentia Island?” Fabulous cliffs and stunning coastal scenery.

• The cliffs on the northern side of Valentia are also a very popular spot for fishing, especially mackerel fishing, but be very aware of ‘rogue’ waves. Several people have been drowned here over the years, including the great rock climber, Michael O’Riordan.

• Other places worth seeing in Valentia are the Slate Quarry where they provided the slate for the British House of Commons in Westminister and places as far away as the railway station in San Salvador in 1860. Magnificent grotto and marvelous views of Valentia Lighthouse and Dingle Bay.

• Tetrapod Footprints - made by a crocodile like creature that took a huge evolutionary step by being the first creature to come out of the ocean and walk on land. Mammals, reptiles and birds are all said to have descended from it. For another mind-blowing’ fact, these footprints were made over 365 million years ago when Ireland was south of the Equator and joined to North America.

• Geokaun Mountain and Fogher Cliffs - amazing views of Valentia Harbour. Walk or drive to the summit. Very informative information panels at the various stopping points. Small admission charge.

• The trans-Atlantic cable is also an amazing achievement - to lay a cable from Valentia to North America, 1,900 mile - for all those texters out there - the first message of 20 words took 35 minutes at a cost of £1 per word.

Call to Valentia Museum in Knightstown and they’ll tell you all about it.

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North Kerry - North Kerry Museum
I am really impressed with the exhibits in this museum. In fact, during a recent visit, I was so impressed and so engrossed by Sean Quinlan's guided tour that when I was going into the museum the tide was out at the mouth of the Cashen river, when I was leaving the museum the tide was in. I couldn’t give it more praise than that.

There are some really special exhibits here;
• a dinosaur’s egg - probably dates to over 65 million years ago
• Roger Casement boat - a boat which was used by Roger Casement to come ashore at Banna in 1916.
• Another boat in the museum is much older - a Bronze Age boat, about 4,000 years old, cut out from a single oak tree. It was found in the Cashen river in 1978.
• Planks of oak used for ancient roadway linking Rattoo monastery and the church at Dysert in the medieval times. The roadway was very cleverly done. This area along by the river is very marshy. They stood two posts in the marsh and then used planks of oak that had holes cut at each end to slip down over them. The planks could move up and down on the posts giving a ‘floating’ roadway.

Admission: Adults - 3.50 euros / children 1.50 euros
Open: Mon, Tues, Thurs and Fri.

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Dingle Brewery
Last Thursday I visited the latest Gem in Kerry’s crown, Dingle Brewery on the Conor Pass road at the edge of Dingle town.

There I met with Colette Leahy and Gerry O’Sullivan who have produced what I think is going to be a hugely successful product - Tom Crean Premium Irish Lager. You know I don’t accept any ‘brown envelopes’ for promotions on this show so I tell things as they are and I must say that I was really impressed with this lager. It has the most beautiful flavour. The difference is like that between home made jam and commercial jam. Tom Crean Lager is going to be available in the bars in Dingle and I believe it will prove very popular with locals and visitors.

Initially it’s going to be available in the pubs in Dingle and Anascaul but there are no plans to have it available in bottles or cans.

I’m not sure if Colette and Gerry are looking for investors but rather than put money in the banks or property, I think Dingle Brewery is a great bet.

Admission: Adults 6 euros, children free. Self-guided tour and a free pint.

Open: 7 days / 12 noon to 6pm.

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The Harry Clarke Stained Glass Windows - The Diseart Centre, Green St, Dingle
Harry Clarke (1889 - 1931) was born in North Frederick Street, Dublin, where his father Joshua had a decorating and stained glass business.

• Between 1917 and his early death in 1931, in spite of ill health, he carried out over forty commissions for churches in Ireland, Great Britain and elsewhere. One of his most famous works is the Geneva Window, commissioned by the state for the International Labour Building of the United Nations.

In 1922 Mother Superior Ita Macken of the Presentation Sisters, Dingle commissioned Harry Clarke to design and create 12 stained glass lancet windows depicting scenes from the life of Christ.

You will be given a audio machine and a set of head-phones that will inform you about the stained glass windows as you walk through the chapel. It is easy forgot about the hustle and bustle of the streets outside in the silence of this peaceful and tranquil place. It's like stepping off the planet.

See also in the Diseart building;
• Fresco of the Last Supper
• Nano Nagle Room

Open: Mon - Fri : 9am - 5pm / Sat: 10am - 4pm / Sun: Noon - 5pm.
Admission: Adults - 2 euros / children free
www.diseart.ie

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Live theatre at the Seanchaí Centre, Listowel
See the characters of the Kerry Writers’ come to life in live daily performances at the Kerry Writers’ Museum in the Seanchaí – Kerry Literary & Cultural Centre

The Seanchaí Literary & Cultural Centre, Listowel presents a daily programme of live theatre performances as part of the tour of the Kerry Writers’ Museum. See the characters created by the writers come to life as you move through the museum, located in a magnificently restored 19th century Georgian residence in The Square, Listowel.

Encounter the formidable priest’s housekeeper ‘Moll’ or the powerful matriarch ‘Big Maggie’ created by John B. Keane in his famous stage plays. Be regaled by the stories for adults & children from ‘The Master’ Bryan MacMahon, or learn of the North Kerry origins of the ‘Quiet Man’ created by Maurice Walsh, and later adapted for screen by John Ford.

You will be greeted by these many characters on your arrival and taken on a magical journey through the imaginative worlds of these great Kerry writers.

Following the performance you can take a journey with the Kerry writers through historical and scenic North Kerry landscapes that influenced them in a unique audio-visual presentation. Or listen to the voices of the writers themselves in the audio presentations in the individual writers rooms.

Show run from Tuesday to Saturday at 11.30am and 2pm

To learn more about the Seanchai Kerry Literary Centre see my Radio Kerry programme script from June 28th or check out www.kerrywritersmuseum.com

Opening Hours: June to September, Open 7 days from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm - Last tours at 4.30 pm. (Restaurant open at weekends for group bookings only).
Admission Charge: Adults 5 euros, children 3 euros, family: 12 euros.
How to get there: Situated in the Square, Listowel.

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Killarney - Muckross House / Traditional Farms
Muckross House
Muckross House and the adjoining Traditional Farms will be known to most of the listeners. Let me tell you some interesting facts about Muckross House;

• It was built in 1843 at the cost of £33,000 and it was the third Muckross House built by the Herberts
• It was several years after they moved in to it before they had running water and electricity
• It has 62 chimneys
• They brought their ice from Norway and stored it underground in the ‘Ice House’
• The big fire screen in the living room was to prevent the lead in the ladies make-up from melting.

Muckross Traditional Farms
These are an exciting representation of the lifestyles and farming traditions of a rural Ireland community in the 1930s. Visit all the different houses, from the farm-labourer’s cottage to the big farmer’s house. The guides are baking bread and doing all the daily chores that would have been necessary at the time.

Admission to the House: €7
Admission to the Traditional Farms: €7.50
Joint ticket to both: €12

Get a family Heritage Card for 55 euros. This gives access to all Office of Public Works sites in Ireland for 12 months from the date of purchase.

www.muckross-house.ie

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The Ring of Kerry - Skellig’s Rock
The jewel in Kerry’s crown is without doubt Scellig Mhichíl (Skellig Michael) – the most amazing Early Christian site in Europe.

We have only three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ireland, Boyne Valley - Giant’s Causeway and Scellig Mhichíl.

Where is it? Scellig Mhichíl is 8 mls (13 kms) off the Kerry coast in the south west of Ireland. The rock is like a giant pyramid (715 ft / 218 m) and it was here, 600 ft (183 m) up, that in the 6th century monks built a monastery, consisting mainly of beehive shaped stone huts. There are two Skellig Rocks, the second, often referred to as the Little Skellig, is a gannet coloney.

Why monks choose the Skelligs? – Like Jesus Christ going out into the desert to pray, the monks sought out remote places, high up on a wave-lashed rock out in the Atlantic Ocean, at the very edge of the known universe, must have felt pretty close to God.

Life for the monks – they adapted well to their environment. Their diet consisted of fish, birds, bird’s eggs and seal steaks. They had goats and sheep and grew cereals and vegetables. Surplus food was traded for vellum, tools etc with passing ships.

The Vikings – The Annals of Inisfallen (written from the 11th-14th century at the monastery on Inisfallen Island on Loch Léin, Killarney) tell us about a Viking attack in 823 in which Etgal, the Abbot of Skellig, was carried off as a hostage and died at their hands. Probably because he refused to say where the monastery’s valuables were hidden.

Monks leave Skelligs - with the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century the medieval monasteries in Ireland were being replaced by religious orders from the continent. The monks departed the Skelligs and settled on the mainland at Ballinskelligs.

Who should go there? The fact that there are 600 steps up to the monastery will help many people make up their minds. I put the point that two people were killed on Scellig Mhichíl in recent times to Kenneth Roddy, one of the boat trip operators. His reply was that only three people have been killed on the Skelligs in the last 45 years. About 10,000 people a year visit the Rock. He said, when you compare this to 52 people killed on Kerry’s roads in the last 4 years, the number is very small.

Getting there – Not every day is suitable for going to the Skelligs, you need good weather and calm seas. Unlike most visitors, Kerry people can wait until the weather is right and then go for it. Check with http://www.met.ie or http://magicseaweed.com for the weather forecast.

Access is limited - 12 persons / boat. Each boat is only allowed one trip / day.

Advance booking is essential.
Cost: 40 - 50 euros
Boats leave from Portmagee and from Ballinskelligs


Bring rain gear / warm clothes for boat trip. Bring a lunch.

The Little Skelligs island. It has about 66,000 gannets, a mainly white coloured bird with black wing tips that dives from a height for fish. The Little Scellig is the 2nd biggest gannetry in the world.

The Skellig Experience Centre - this is on Valentia Island. Cross the bridge at Portmagee and it’s on your left. Well worth a visit, if possible before you go to the island.

Learn about;
• the lives of the monks in a superb audio-visual
• the marine and bird life
• what life was like on the lighthouse

Admission: Adults - E5; Children - E3; Seniors/Students : E4. Family Ticket - E14.
Open: July & August from 10am - 7pm, last admission at 6pm. May, Jun, Sept & Oct from 10am - 6pm.
www.skelligexperience.com

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North Kerry - Tarbert Bridewell
In the 1800’s ‘Bridewells’ was the name given to small local prisons in Ireland and England. The name derives from Bridewell Palace, the London residence of King Henry Vlll of England in the early 1500’s.

Tarbert Bridewell was built in 1831 and its elegant cut limestone exterior stands as a tribute to the fine craftsmen of the early 19th century. For more than 100 years it served as a Courthouse & Jail. The Courthouse was used for the dispensing of justice and the cells and yards for the temporary confinement of prisoners prior to removal to the County Jail in Tralee.

Background : The 1841 census showed the population of Ireland at just over eight million. The vast majority of the population lived in extreme poverty and also suffered exploitation by landlords and their middle men. Bridewells issues harsh judgements to keep law and order.

The fine for drunkenness was two shillings but the penalty for sheep stealing was exile to Australia - with limited chance of ever returning.

Visitors to Tarbert Bridewell can experience law and order 1830s style. The one-time jail and courthouse is now home to an exhibition tracing the journey of the accused from alleged crime to punishment, by way of
• 19th-century prison cells
• exercise yards and
• keepers’ quarters.

There’s also an exhibition on the life and works of Thomas MacGreevy, the Irish modernist poet, who was born in Tarbert, and there’s a café and a gift shop. Events include a weekly whist drive, singing classes and art exhibitions.

Opening hours
open daily from 10am – 6pm from April 1st to Sept 30th
Admission : Adults - E5.00 / Children under 14 - E2.50 / Family Ticket E12 - (2 adults & up to 4 children)
Tel. 068 - 36500 / www.tarbertbridewell.com

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Killarney - Ross Castle
If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to live in a castle then you will really enjoy a visit to Ross Castle on the shores of Loch Léin in Killarney

• Dates from 15th century
• Built by O’Donoghue Ross
• Tower house
• Surrounded by a fortified wall with towers at each corner - only two of which remain
• One of the last castles in Ireland to fall to Cromwell’s forces in 1652 - they brought boats up the River Laune and attacked the castle from the lake side..

• Authentically restored - furniture from the 16th and 17th century

Open: Mar - Oct / 9.30 - 17.45

See the Private chambers, bed chambers, Great Hall and Musicians gallery.

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North Kerry - Crag Cave
Next we go underground and go back over one million years. It’s been a number of years since I was in Crag Cave so last Saturday morning I headed for Castleisland and ventured down into the cave with a group of visitors.

I had forgotten how vast this cave is. It really is long and some of the chambers are huge. Our guide, Shane, was very informative and explained all about stalagmites and stalactites. The lighting effects are excellent and it’s really amazing to see how the water has created such vast caverns over thousands of years.

Caves are known for their great acoustics and as Crag Cave is in the heart of the Sliabh Luachra area, I asked our guide Shane if he would mind if I played a few polkas on the harmonica and he said “no problem”. I played a slow air in one part of the cave and the sound was amazing. The notes just seemed to ‘float’ in the still air. Amazing - made my day.
Crag Cave also has;
• Crazy Cave Indoor and Outdoor Adventure Centre
• Indoor Rodeo
• and an outdoor climbing wall

Thanks to Shane and Gráinne for the hospitality and being so helpful.

Open: 10am - 6pm
Prices: Cave only - Adults E12, Children E5. Play area: E8 per child. Cave + Play Area : E11 per child.
Contact: Tel. 066 - 714 1244 / www.cragcave.com

Events in North Kerry this week : Adfert Summer Festival, Thurs 21st - Sun 24th July.

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Ring of Kerry - Cahersiveen, two spectacular forts
Almost 400 Medieval sites on the Iveragh Peninsula - the majority are ringforts.

• Lis/Rath: earthen banks, eg Rathmore, Listowel
• Caher/Cashel: stone banks, Caher Donal, Cahersiveen
• Date: Early Medieval Period (400-1200 AD)

Purpose: farmsteads, domestic and farm buildings in their interior,
some contain souterrains, for storage and refuge.

Excavation of Leacananabuile, 1930’s revealed - iron knives, bone combs, querns, a sickle animal bones, cattle, sheep, pig, seal, deer and sea birds - Kerry Museum

Where to see them: Leacanabuaile, Cahergeal in Cahersiveen, Loher near Waterville and Staigue Fort and Caher Donal near Caherdaniel.

Worth a read: The Iveragh Peninsula by John Crowley and John Sheehan, Cork University Press.


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North Kerry - Carrigafoyle Castle
Next we’re off to North Kerry to see an amazing castle that many of the listeners might not have seen. Carrigafoyle Castle is in a beautiful area, on the banks of a little inlet of the river Shannon. It was built by the O’Connors in the 1490’s. It’s 86ft tall with double defensive walls on the west and south. In it’s prime it was said to be the strongest fortress in Ireland. It controlled the shipping on the Shannon, especially those bringing goods to Limerick, just 20 miles upriver.

It’s end came during the second Desmond Rebellion in Easter of 1580. The castle was guarded by 50 Irish and 16 Spanish soldiers. The Spaniards were part of the army sent by Pope Gregory XIII to Smerwick Harbour the previous year.

The English commander, William Pelham arrived at the castle on Palm Sunday with 600 troops and set up his cannons on a very convenient nearby mound. They immediately began pounding the castle walls. At one stage on the Sunday afternoon some of the English troops got inside one of the defensive walls only to be showered with rocks and gunfire. They then tried getting into the castle by using long ladders but the defenders managed to push off the ladders.

At one stage of the battle Pelham was hit by a ricochet, to much jeering from the soldiers in the castle. Their minor success was short lived. After two days of constant bombardment, the western wall of the castle finally collapsed. The English troops entered the castle and all inside were slaughtered, even those that had tried to escape across the shallow waters.

Anyway, I would highly recommend going to see the castle for yourself and see where it all happened.

The castle has been magnificently restored by the OPW and there are two great things about it;
• it’s free to go in
• you can go all the way to the top, magnificent views of the river Shannon, Carrig Island and Scattery Island

The castle is open from 10-6, 7 days a week, from 1st June to End of September.

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North Kerry - Seanchaí
One of the things that has often puzzled me is how we have two great nests of writers in Kerry, one in the Listowel area and one on the Great Blasket Island.

To try and get to know more about the North Kerry writers I went along to The Seanchaí Centre in the Sqaure in Listowel. Located in a 19th century Georgian residence, the Centre features five of County Kerry’s most esteemed writers – John B. Keane, Bryan MacMahon, George Fitzmaurice, Brendan Kennelly and Maurice Walsh. The writings of these national and internationally renowned literary figures are filled with an abundance of rich characters, humour, romance and tragedy drawn from the towns and villages of North Kerry. The words of the writers will make you laugh and cry, but above all you will come away from your visit to Seanchaí with a sense of the people and places that shaped Kerry’s literary genius.

Listowel with it’s Writer’s Week in June each year, has been described as the ‘Literary Capital of Ireland’. Amazingly Seanchaí honours over eighty Kerry-based writers, some of whom have become national and international figures in the world of literature.

The Landscapes Room - Take a journey with the Kerry writers through historical and scenic North Kerry in a stunning audio-visual presentation. Learn about the places, people, traditions and customs that influenced the writers in their works – from the harshness of the Atlantic waves crashing against Ballybunion’s rugged cliffs to the magnificent spectacle of the Wren Boys as they perform through the streets of Listowel.

Maurice Walsh Room - On entering you will see Maurice Walsh writing in his summer house in Scotland. He is probably best known for his short-story ‘The Quiet Man’ which was later made into a Hollywood film, directed by John Ford.

Bryan MacMahon Room - Discover how Bryan MacMahon’s life working as a school teacher influenced him greatly in his writing. You may listen to extracts from his plays and prose performed by local actors who knew and worked with Bryan.

John B. Keane Room - Much of his writing is conjured from encounters in his pub, on William St., Listowel. Visitors can sit at the bar and hear of the tragic demise of ‘Sive’ and the stubbornness of ‘Bull McCabe’ in ‘The Field’. A playwright novelist, poet and short-story writer, John B. Keane’s writings are filled with an abundance of rich characters, humour, romance and tragedy.

Brendan Kennelly Room - Professor of English literature at Trinity College, Dublin, Brendan Kennelly is one of Ireland’s most esteemed poets. His poetry is drawn from the rural community of Ballylongford in which he grew up. As he served in his father’s pub he listened to the country-men telling their stories and singing their songs and he used this experience in his poetry. He captured in poem the essence of the average, the naivety, the scepticism and fun-loving nature of the people where he grew up.

George FitzMaurice Room - The oldest of the writers featured in the exhibition George Fitzmaurice was born in Duagh just outside Listowel in 1877 and twenty-three years later he moved to Dublin. We now visit him in his rented bed-sit where he spent the last years of his life. He moved in circles with W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory and John Millington Synge and his first play ‘The Country Dressmaker’ was staged by the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1907.

Hallways - Enjoy a taste of the writings of the many Kerry writers along the halls & corridors of the Centre. These range from the stories of The Great Blasket Islanders, Peig Sayers, Tomas O Criomthain, to the humorous verse of Robert Leslie Boland, and many more.

THE CRAFT OF WRITING, A Creative Writing Programme - August 1 - 5, 2011. Director : Ivy Bannister

The week long intensive writing programme is designed to provide beginner and intermediate writers with a framework upon which to build their skills. Each day will focus on a different form: poetry; memoirs; short fiction; dialogue; and the longer project. Beginners will meet in the mornings, intermediates in the afternoon; and it is anticipated that all participants will use their free time to write.

Opening Hours: June to September, Open 7 days from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm - Last tours at 4.30 pm. (Restaurant open at weekends for group bookings only).
Admission Charge : Adults 5 euros, children 3 euros, family: 12 euros.
How to get there : Situated in the Square Listowel.

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Listowel Castle
When in the Seanchaí Centre why not visit the 15th century Listowel Castle, the last bastion against Queen Elizabeth I in the First Desmond Rebellion, the last fortress of the Geraldines to be subdued. it was originally of similar form to Bunratty Castle, Co. Clare.

It fell after 28 days siege to Sir Charles Wilmot on the 5th November, 1600, who had the castle’s garrison. One of the best examples of Anglo-Norman architecture in Kerry, the castle has now been restored to some of its former glory. The castle is open to the public for tours on a daily basis. The castle guides are based in the Seanchaí Centre and there is no charge for a tour of the castle.

Opening Hours: 9.15 am - 4.45 pm, 7 days during summer months
Admission Charge: Free admission
How to get there: The Square, Listowel.

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