Europe and Cruising 2016: Ring of Kerry and Dingle

29 and 30 October

On Saturday, we left Kenmare to drive to Dingle, via the Ring of Kerry and Skellig Ring. The Ring of Kerry seems to be on every self-respecting Irish itinerary but, while we thought it was nice and some parts were interesting, it was not as good as the Dingle or Beara peninsulars. Best scenery by far was the small portion between Caherdaniel and Waterville. Ballycarbery Castle and the stone forts were interesting. The area around Castlemaine Harbour, the stretch of water between the Iveragh (Ring of Kerry) and Dingle Peninsulars, is the heart of Moriarty territory in Kerry.

We stopped for afternoon tea at the busy Inch Strand, a long sand spit that stretches into the bay, and watched surfers tackle little waves in cold water and children play in the rather dirty looking sand. It’s no wonder Europeans go mad over Australian beaches. We are very spoiled in that regard!

After arriving in Dingle and admiring the ocean views from our room, we walked into town and had ice cream from Murphy’s, made from the milk of Kerry cows, and a drink in John Benny Moriarty’s pub. Chatting with the bartender, Gary mentioned that he was also a Moriarty but the guy just shrugged. Apparently 92% of Moriartys are born in County Kerry and the name is as common as Smith or Jones in this area!

Today we drove some of Slea Head Drive, west of Dingle. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the scenery was stunning, much more spectacular than the Ring of Kerry. First stop was Dun Beag Fort, which was more of a fortified farm house but the surrounding cliffs, views and friendly donkey made up for it. Then on to Dunmore Point, the westernmost point of Ireland, along a road that seemed to barely cling to the hillside. We didn’t want to do the whole loop so took a road (farm track??) across the hills and found Moriarty’s farm on our way back to Dingle.

We then walked into town, checking out the shops (several named Moriarty’s something) and found a teaching resource souvenir written by a relative - a picture book called “The Dog from Dingle” by Martine Moriarty.

In the afternoon we joined the crowd at the West Kerry Gaelic Football final. played just down the road between Dingle and their arch rival team. Play was fast and furious with plenty of “passion” and swearing, and the crowd and team runners were as entertaining as the game. It was close but fortunately Dingle won by 2 points. It was lots of fun.

We ended our Kerry stay with dinner at John Benny Moriarty’s pub, Guinness and some Irish music.