Ireland-Scotland day 3 & 4 - Killarney   

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On Monday, before leaving Ventrys, we drove to a nearby Norman tower house, known as Rahinnane Castle.

The privately-owned ruin was modest, and the property owner charged us four Euros each. While we were there, the Castle attracted a small but steady stream of visitors, and I surmised that it's probably mentioned in guide books for those driving the popular Dingle Peninsula circuit, or, drivers on tour see it coming and stop to investigate.  

In the 40 minutes we were there, I counted the visitors and figured the owner took in 32 Euros, or about 50 dollars at the currency exchange rates. My guess is he takes home say $200 a day, or more that $5k a month, and this was the slow time of the year. The owner can just sit, smile, and collect money, for almost half a year, an easy, but repetitive (and probably boring) business plan. 

Possibly the owner relieves boredom through sarcasm, because when Paul asked him what he thought about the "Irish Home-Coming in 2013" posters we'd seen at Shannon Airport, he quickly and dryly replied, "Aye, one more way for wee Irish to squeeze money out o' yoo Americans."  

But for six bucks it was worth it to climb on a modest heap of stones, with a bona-fide history.  

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

	Rahinnane Castle		a complex site history		grandeur here, once upon a time		now it belongs to the crows...
		...& dandelions		on the drive to Killarney, see note

note - Across the water are the three highest peaks in Ireland, known as the MacGillycuddy Reeks, the highest at elevation 3,400 ft. The peaks are near Killorglin, on the Ring of Kerry drive.

Killarney - We drove 90 minutes from Dingle to Killarney, where we stayed for two nights. It was an easy walk from the B&B to center city, with its active shopping, pub & dining scene. Killarney also an active traditional Irish music scene, nightly.   

We checked in and went for a walk to Ross Castle, built in the late 1400s, by the O'Donoghue Mor chieftains. 

	sign on the inside door of the B&B		walking to Ross Castle		Ross Castle
		inside we had a 45-min. docent-led tour		coat of arms
	walking back to the B&B		trails were plentiful

That evening we had dinner on the main street, with traditional Irish music, consisting of three musicians & a teenage Irish lass, all red hair and freckles, practicing Irish dance. They were talented and the food was good.

Around 7 pm she said she had to leave to do homework, to a polite round of applause. 

Gap of Dunloe - on Tuesday we had a shuttle ride from a bus stop near the B&B, to the trailhead, for a long & sometimes strenuous uphill walk in the Hills of Kilarney, to the Gap of Dunloe, followed by a long easy downhill stroll & a brief tea stop at Brandon's Cottage. Then we had a 13-mile boat ride back to Ross Castle, crossing the three Lakes of Killarny.  

I think we walked about three hours to reach the Cottage, a good outing for the four of us.  

note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again.

	early morning walk		start of Gap of Dunloe walk		morning light
		the topography		in the hills of Kilarney
	Crocosmia		near the pass		heading downhill
		see note		fairy tale land
	Lord Brandon's Cottage		Michael Tangney

note - at home I looked into the 'Kerry Way' & found that Hwy 72, the main road around the popular Ring of Kerry, in this case between Kenmare & Killarney, is close by. Just uphill is a walking trail from Galway's Bridge (on hwy 72) to Brandon's Cottage, 4.5 miles & a drop of about 800 ft.  

Michael Tangney told me he lived on a sheep farm within a half mile of Brandon's Cottage, that his family continues to run (his farm is in the National Park). 

Michael spoke clearly and looked good for a life-long farm kid, but was a bit wobbly. I saw his son (about my age) coming from the restroom, glad to see someone keeping his Dad occupied. 

As mentioned above, the round trip fee included a scenic thirteen mile return in a motorized, shallow-draft long-boat, crossing the three Lakes of Killarney, famous for blackish water & lovely hills.   

Boatman Donald O'Donoghue said his family has been in the tourist boating business on the Lakes of Killarney for 200 years. He was two years into a four year apprenticeship to become an Electrician when the economy tanked (in '08) and since then he's had to fall back on the family excursion business. The economy never really picked up again as expected, he said to us in fall of 2013. 

Donald knew a lot about local environmental issues, showing us hillsides with invasive Rhododendrons. Later when I asked why there seem to be almost no hawks or herons, or birds of any kind, on these huge bodies of water, he said that a mink invasion in this part of Ireland starting decades ago remains responsible. 

The heron shown below was acknowledged by Donald as the one & only Heron living on more than 13 miles of shoreline. This lack of birds and hawks in a National Park was one of the most surprising (environmental) impressions of the trip.

		the family business		Upper Lake
	Donald, boatman & storyteller				narrow gap between Upper & Middle lakes
		the lone heron on the lakes		gap between Middle & Lower lakes		Tea Cottage, see note
	Donald was talkative		a fleeting moment of sunshine near Ross Castle

note - The Tea Cottage was built for Queen Victoria's visit to Ireland in 1861. Her visit to Killarney lead to an influx of European tourists to the Lakes of Killarney in the following years. 

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