Ireland two

Ireland part two - Kilarney

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On Monday, before leaving Ventrys, we drove a mile to check out a Norman tower house (known as Rahinnane Castle) which Mary had spotted the night before.

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 surmise that it's probably mentioned in guide books for those driving the popular Dingle Peninsula route, 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 during the tourist season. Forget farming, is the idea, and the owner can just sit, smile, and collect money, for almost half a year, an easy, but repetitive (and possibly boring) business plan.

Perhaps 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, that's one more way for we Irish to squeeze money out o' yoo Americans."

In truth it only cost us six or seven bucks each (paid in Euros), well worth it to climb on a modest heap of stones, with a bona-fide history. But this must be the smallest castle in the world.

I didn't take a photo, but at the time I took notice that the mini-castle, being only a little uphill from Ventrys, had a stupendous view of Dingle bay.

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

	mini-Castle in County Kerry		the story		grandeur here, once upon a time		now it belongs to the crows
		and the dandelions		on the drive to Kilarney

Kilarney

We drove 90 minutes from Dingle to Kilarney, 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 has a reputation for its active traditional Irish music scene, nightly.

We checked in and went for a walk which included a tour of impressive Ross Castle.

sign on the inside door of the B&B		walking to Ross Castle	Kilarney National Park		Ross Castle
	ancestors			inside we had a great 45 min. docent-led tour...	...photos were not allowed
descendants maybe...		coat of arms	walking back to the B&B		trails were everywhere
	the National Park extends into town			St. Catherine's
thatched roof		St. Catherine's Cathedral

That evening we ate at a restaurant on the main street, with a traditional Irish music show, a small band with a young Irish lass practicing Irish dance. They were good. Around 7 pm the dancer said she had to return home to do her homework, and the audience heartily applauded.

Wherever we went, Irish music was performed in the traditional style, with good taste, unlike those Riverdance performances where every song builds to a crescendo with flashing lasers...Irish ballads never build to a crescendo.

Gap of Dunloe - on Tuesday we had a shuttle ride from a bus stop near the B&B, taking us 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.

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		Gap of Dunloe walk		morning light		the topography
	clear & cool day		uphill for a long time		in the hills of Kilarney
Crocosmia		more uphill		local sheep
	heading downhill from the pass		Rowan tree		country doorway
fairy tale land		near the end of the walk		Lord Brandon's Cottage		Michael Tangney

Michael Tangney told me he grew up on a sheep farm within a half mile of Brandon's Cottage, and his family continues to run the sheep business on this side of the Lakes (his farm is in the National Park).

Michael spoke clearly and looked pretty good for a life-long farm kid, but he was a little wobbly. I saw a guy (about my age) approaching from the restroom, no doubt his son, who was glad to see someone keeping his Dad occupied.

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. The Lakes have been a popular European destination, going back 250 years.

Donald O'Donoghue said his family has been in the tourist boating business on the Lakes of Killarney (also for 250 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 Rhododendron trees. Later when I asked him 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. They pretty much decimated bird life here.

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 impressions of the whole trip for me.

	the family business		Donald, boatman & storyteller		the Lakes of Kilarney
		blackish water				narrow gap between lakes 3 and 2
	the lone heron on the lakes		gap between lakes 2 and 1		tea cottage built for Queen Victoria's visit in the 1880s.
calendar shot alert				Donald was very talkative..
	a fleeting moment of sunshine near Ross Castle		maybe we didn't tip enough?		Castle at 11:59pm

note - oddly enough I don't recall where we ate that night but I do recall that Mary and I made a point of getting back to the B&B early so we had time to in time to sit outside talking while enjoying some red wine. It was a beautiful night in Kilarney, Ireland, a comfortable temperature. After an hour Doris and Paul got back, and we drove a few minutes to watch the lights go out at Ross Castle at midnight.

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