EXCERPT FROM SARA’S JOURNALOctober 31, 1998
Near Ballyferriter
Dingle Peninsula
Our friends Stephanie and Lisa think we are on the end of the Earth
which, of course, we are. They have come from London to see what we are up to out here.
Stephanie, and archeologist specializing in European Prehistory, is
anxious to see the Gallarus Oratory. This is the archeologist’s first time to
the Dingle Peninsula and she wants to inspect all of the neighboring antiquities.
The Slea Head drive follows the western tip of the peninsula around
from the northern tip to the southern side. At the most westerly point of Slea Head
there is a marker bearing an effigy of Christ to let you know you have reached it.
All Hallows Eve encourages us to venture down the Ballyferriter for a
nightcap, and to investigate how the population of the Dingle Peninsula celebrates the
night of spirits. The tiny village is packed with cars and people. There are three
pubs in Ballyferriter.
Half the crowd is socializing, the other half is watching football.
There is a small contingent of cape and vampire teeth-wearing children in the corner
gorging themselves on two litres of carbonated pop. We sit in the adjacent corner and
listen to the vampires tell stories. Lisa tells us a few
attending-physician-in-the-emergency-room stories. One in particular frightens us
wholeheartedly—it involves a man and his misadventure with a black pudding.
