Information Dingle Ireland
The summer months are the busy period in Dingle, with locals and tourists alike drawn to the area from both just down the road and thousands of miles away. It is a centre for socialising locals in the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) area at the tip of the peninsula on which it resides. Festivals include the Dingle Regatta and the Dingle Races. You will find live traditional music playing in public houses in the area – or other musical genres for those with different tastes. At the tip of Dingle peninsula is the Gallarus Oratory, a millennium and a half old chapel that for its period seems perfect in its construction. You can also take a boat trip around the almost completely enclosed harbour. There are visits by dolphins very occasionally too – one of whom has become something of a celebrity in Ireland over recent years. You may catch sight of the Blasket Islands on your boat trip. Fifteen miles west of Dingle, you’ll find the Blasket Centre, a heritage centre for the nearby aforementioned Blasket Islands. Numerous masterpieces of literature come from the islands, with most of them in the native tongue. 1953 saw the last inhabitant of Great Blasket Island. There were mainly economic reasons for the abandonment of the island’s houses: The discrepancy between mainland life and life on the island was so great that all the women left, and the last men not long afterwards. The centre describes the way of life which was eked out by the culturally rich community on the islands. Flora and fauna of the islands are detailed, and the heritage centre houses a library containing extensively researched tomes on the area and the islands.
Attractions Dingle Ireland
Ardfert Cathedral - Ardfert
A monastery was founded here by St. Brendan 'The Navigator' in the 6th century. There are three medieval churches, an ogham stone and a number of early Christian and medieval grave slabs on the site today. The earliest building is the cathedral which dates from the 12th - 17th centuries. It has a fine Romanesque west doorway, a magnificent 13th century east window and a spectacular row of nine lancets in the south wall. Two effigies of ecclesiastical figures of late 13th - early 14th century date are mounted on either side of the east window.
Carrigafoyle Castle - Ballylongford
Located 2 miles North of Ballylongford in the channel between the mainland and Carrig Island. Carrigafoyle has had a stormy history and, although wrecked by a series of bloody sieges, remains a remarkable castle. Cleverly located between the high- and low-water marks on the shore of the Shannon Estuary, it comprises a large tower built towards the end of the fifteenth century by the O'Connors of Kerry. The tower has five storeys rising to a height of 86 feet and is beautifully constructed of specially selected small stones laid in neat courses.
Coolwood Wildlife Sanctuary and Zoo - Coolcaslagh
Located at Coolcaslagh, about two miles from Killarney town. Situated on 50 acres, it is an ideal family venue with scenic walks, coffee shop, children's playground and the 3 acre children's zoo with a variety of exotic species
Crag Cave - Castleisland
Located at Castleisland, Crag cave is a colourful wonderland of stalactites and stalactmites. Discovered in 1983 and thought to be over a million years old, it is a natural all weather attraction. Crag Cave is an ancient fossil cave system, older than mankind itself, within which can be seen the natural forces that created the complex and beautiful passages.
Derrynane House, National Historic Park - Caherdaniel
Derrynane House is the ancestral home of Daniel O'Connell, lawyer, politician and statesman. Situated on 120 hectares of parklands on the scenic Kerry coast, the House displays many relics of O'Connell's life and career. Access for visitors with disabilities to ground floor
