The O'Connell Tour of County Kerry (Part 1)

Our Gracious Hosts: Florry, Agnes, & Richard O'Connell

As chronicled in (excessive) detail, we arrived in the Dublin Airport on the afternoon of Monday June 17, 2013 and were met by two genuine Irish people, Florry O'Connell and his friend Sarah Prunty. We have known Florry since meeting November of 2010 in Timaru, NZ, and he introduced us to Sarah in Perth in 2011. We piled into the rental car and he drove off to his home town, Tralee in County Kerry, 3 1/2 hours or so away.
At last check, Florry had 1,522 Facebook Friends. As far as I can tell, these are real friends, not typical "Facebook Friends". He remains the single most likable person I have ever met, is described by Camille Hemlock (real name) as my long-lost son, and our paths have crossed now in four countries on three continents. We met Sarah briefly in Perth, Australia when Florry came to visit her while we were passing through. On leaving Timaru, I was gifted with an Ireland travel guide inscribed "So now you've no excuse not to come to Ireland". He also insisted his parents would be gravely disappointed if we did not impose on them by staying at their home. So for the next four days we were treated to room and board at two locations as well as a chauffeured tour..

County Kerry

First night: Tralee, the county town (or county seat we would say) of Kerry, and the home of Florry. Their home is on a hillock with a lovely view of Tralee Bay, and the town seemed a pleasant average town.

A monument commemorating the 1798 rebellion – a statue of a Pikeman

Tralee street scene

Blennerville Windmill just south of Tralee

On the first full day we are off over Connor Pass

Pedler Lake, a glacial lake en route to Dingle

From the saddle of Connor Pass

to the Dingle Peninsula. Dingle is a quaint seaside town where we had hearty fish chowder. They also make a big deal over a wayward dolphin they have dubbed Fungie after a fisherman with a face like a mushroom. Fungi (alt. spelling) is speculated to be a runaway from a dolphin show that has lived a solitary life entertaining tour boats in the bay for 25 years, and reputed to prefer female homo sapiens. They have erected a statue in his honor. (The Irish like their statues: more on that later.)

Downtown Dingle

Fungi & Friends (plus arm)

Fungi sans Friends

The Dingle Peninsula is famous for dramatic rocky coastal views, a few beaches, and a sparse landscape with rustic stone fences and buildings and abandoned potato fields.

We then drove on further south in Kerry to the Iveraugh Peninsula for a two night stay in a holiday home near Waterville managed by our hosts. En route we stopped in Caherciveen at a monument to the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell, called the Great Liberator for leading a peaceful movement to get the Irish Catholic emancipation in the first half of the 19th century.

Daniel & Me

A bit further down the road we explored a 9th century ring fort with a ruined 16th century castle in the background.

Leacanabuile Ring Fort

Ballycarbery Castle in the distance

The vacation house is serene and overlooks the beach with Waterville in the distance and about 20 minutes from Port Magee our gateway to the Skellig Islands. My complete ignorance of the existence of the Skelligs ended with the Conde Nast Traveler "Where Are You?" quiz from 2007. When I saw it was in Kerry, I knew I had to try to go. Not infrequently the seas are too rough to allow the 7 mile crossing to the isles, but it was our lucky day. The famously temperamental Irish weather was clear, and we had a safe but a bit bumpy crossing over the Atlantic.

Skellig Michael is the larger of the two isles, and home to a remarkable 4th to 12th century monastery of stone "beehive" dwellings perched high on the cliffs reached by a vertiginous flight of 600 uneven rocky steps.

Skellig Michael Monastery

The islands are also a noted bird santuary, and the puffis, razorbills, gannets,etc. (and their droppings) are everywhere.

Puffin

Razorbill

Small Skellig is closed to visitors and is home to the second-largest Northern Gannet colony in the world (the first being on St. Kilda Island in Scotland, as my research showed.). From afar the island is streaked with white from thousands of birds (and their Guano).

Small Skellig

Lots and lots for Northern Gannets

 They 5 1/2 hour excursion will be a major highlight of my visit to Ireland, but our tourist day was not done yet.After dinner, Florry was energized enough to take us on a whirlwind jaunt to Valentia Island, most famous as the eastern terminus of the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable in 1858, as well as for the slate quarry, which produced stone used to build the Parliament Buildings in London and Westminster Abbey, among other landmarks of the British Empire.Part of the quarry was turned into a grotto in honor of the Virgin Mary.

Valentia Island slate quarry grotto

Detail from the top of the Grotto: Statues of Mary and St. Bernadette

The quarry also offers a panoramic view of Dingle Bay.

Such a grand day moved Florry to commence a dance party on the wall around a lighthouse, nearly allowing him to become a fatality in the western-most inhabited spot in Europe!

There are a couple of more loose ends.
Florry and Sarah have been trying to introduce us to a few uniquely Irish items.
1) Florry claims to have had "jelly and ice cream" nightly for dessert as a youth.

Jelly and Ice Cream

From Whence the "Jelly" Comes

2) A "99", which is a soft-serve ice cream with a chocolate stick in it.

(Note the small brown stick, transforming the regular cone into an Irish 99!)

3) And Taytos, which doesn't warrant a photo, as it is just the Irish brand name of a maker of potato chips (or "crisps" to many), used generically, like Scotch tape.

Also, in concentrating on this trip, I completely missed the Obamas coming to Ireland as part of the G-8 conference in Belfast. Dublin was shut down the day we arrived as Michelle and the girls visited. All the media was atwitter, but at least one socialist member of the Irish Parliament was less than thrill. You can check out what Clare Daly had to say about Obama's visit, but be warned, it is more Berkeley Sproul Plaza than C-SPAN.
Finally, there is much in the air commemorating the 50th anniversary of JFK's visit here. They are sending a torch from the eternal flame in Arlington here. It remains a very big deal.