EXCERPT FROM SARA’S JOURNALOctober 30, 1998
Near Ballyferriter
Dingle Peninsula
It's glorious--a day to explore the infamous Ring of Kerry. The
Ring is a 179-kilometre circuit of the Iveragh Peninsula, directly south of the Dingle
Peninsula on Ireland's West Coast. It is one of Ireland's premier tourist
attractions because of its picturesque coastline, diverse vegetation and Killarney
National Park.
A break in the clouds lasts until we reach the north coast part of the
Ring which is speckled with intermittent downpours and cloudy patches. A small gallery
exhibits watercolour prints. Every town on the Ring is represented in these happy
paintings. A bridge from Portmagee to Valencia Island connects the Ring of
Valencia to the Ring of Kerry. The road meanders muddily around the island. The Skellig
Ring (yet another extension of the Ring of Kerry) starts where the Valencia Ring stops and
follows the coastline of the southwestern tip. This is where the view really gets
delicious. The Skellig Experience Centre outlines the life and times of the monks
who inhabited a monastery perched 150 metres above sea level on Skellig Michael, the
largest of the Skellig Rocks. The monks survived on this 217 metre jagged rock from the 7th
to the 13th century.
Before the Skellig Ring joins up again with the main Ring of Kerry
road, there is a crescent-shaped bay with a white sand beach called Ballinskelligs.
It is the quietest place on the Ring, and perches at the edge of the ocean is a decaying
13th century monastery and a 16th century McCarthy stronghold. The tide rises to
pant-licking heights. The ruins of the monastery are a maze of low stone walls and
overgrown tombstones. the Irish continue to bury their dead in these places, despite
the fact that no one worships here any longer, the sea is gradually overtaking the place
in general.
Between Catherdaniel and Castlecove a restaurant bears the sign, "The
Greatest View In Ireland". Rounding the cornering road reveals that we are
several hundred metres above sea level, perched on a cliff edge, and looking out at a
jagged cove and sandy beach. The mounds of land retreat out to misty nothingness. The fog
hides any possibility of a horizon. It is simply blue, with gradating mounds of greytone
cropped up in a chilly ocean.
At the end of a 3km dirt road stands the 2000 year-old Staigue Stone
Fort. The fort boasts a circular wall up four metres thick surrounded by a large bank.
There is a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside.
Despite its name, the town of Sneem is picturesque. The Ring of Kerry
is more tourist-oriented than the Dingle Peninsula. It’s the Ring of Restaurants with
an Emphasis on Bus Parking. Its forested and diverse, but lacks the wild and
unspoiled character of the Peninsula.
Killarney National Park is a series of pristine, flat, connected lakes
that invite a canoe. There are woods of deciduous, turning trees and rolling brown hills.
Killarney itself is large and accommodating for travelers. The drive out of the National
Park is a boardwalk of luxury resorts perched on the cliffside, stalked by winding
tree-lined driveways and green lawns.
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