County Kerry - Towns

Services in Dunloe

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If the West Kerry Gaeltacht has a spiritual capital, then Dunquin is that metropolis. The little village has for a century and more been mecca to students of the Irish language and has become in recent times faithful custodian of the Blasket heritage.

The Blasket connection has not been without controversy. The huge interpretative centre that opened here in 1993 met initial opposition but was welcomed by the islanders and has since prospered. It celebrates all aspects of the Blaskets, including remarkable and ongoing connection with Springfield, Massachusetts, to which town so many of the islanders emigrated.

Among the many spirits that hang about Dunquin are those of Spanish sailors; the ill-starred Armada lost two ships. A monument in the village recalls those who perished.

Services in Dunquin

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Kerry's regional airport is situated here and it connects the county with Dublin each day and with Luton and Manchester in England as well as accommodating a series of charter flights.

Services in Farranfore

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About 8 miles (13 km) west of Tralee is a small port on the bay, Fenit. St Brendan, patron saint of Kerry and famous as Brendan the Navigator (484-577), who , it is suggested, may have discovered America, was born in the neighbourhood.

Near the village is a glacial erratic, a large boulder of sandstone resting on limestone near the water's edge. A natural limestone cave at Lissodigue, 3 miles (5 km) to the north-west, can be explored for over 700 feet. Fenit Castle ruin, on Fenit Island 2 miles (3 km) from the village, was built to guard the entrance to Barrow Harbour, which at one time had a considerable trade with Spain and the Low Countries.

Services in Fenit

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A popular holiday base situated at the entrance to a horseshoe of mountains where the Behy River flows into Dingle Bay, Glenbeigh nestles at the foot of Seefin Mountains (1,621 feet).

Around Glenbeigh
The mountain scenery here is magnificent, and the circuit of the hills from Seefin to Drung Hill, called the "Glenbeigh Horse-shoe", is one of Kerry's finest mountain walks. A feature of the circuit is the series of glacial corries and lakes which lie at the head of the Behy valley. There is trout fishing on Lough Coomasaharn, the largest of the lakes, and the Behy River.

From Glenbeigh it is 3 miles (5km) via the Windy Gap, Blackstones Bridge and the course of the Caragh River, with lovely scenery all the way, to the angling and climbing centre of Glencar. Caragh Lake is a beautiful expanse of water 4 miles (6km) long, set among broom and heather-covered hills with majestic mountains in the background.

Services in Glenbeigh

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