This morning we left Tralee (in the rain) and headed north into the tiny village of Adare, renowned as one of Ireland’s prettiest towns.  Adare’s claim to fame is the numerous thatched roof cottages built in 1820 by Lord Dunraven.  The walls were built with local stones, then covered with a mud plaster before being…

The Dingle Peninsula is the home of numerous early Christian sites of significance.  Throughout the centuries, visitors have come here to find a place close to God, and pilgrimages continue to the present day.  The Riasc Monastic settlement is one of Ireland’s best known early Christian settlements.  The Riasc stone pillar is decorated with 7th…

Early this morning we left Cahersiveen on the Iveragh peninsula and headed further north onto the Dingle peninsula.  The weather on the Dingle Peninsula has been described as ‘loud’.  It usually rains a lot and there is not much to stop the crazy wind on the coast. Today not so much. In fact we needed…

We woke to a slight change in the weather today. The forecast for the next few days is overcast clouds with a few mm of rain likely. This is more like the Ireland we expected! The area just north of our camping pod outside of Cahersiveen is known as ‘over the water” by the locals.…

This morning we drove about 20 minutes into the town of Portmagee and met up with captain Jay at Paul Devane Cruises for our tour to Skellig Michael.  A few days ago we got the disappointing news that due to some interference from the Office of Public Works, we are not currently allowed to land/walk…

After breakfast we said a fond farewell to our tiny glamping pod and headed to the end of the Beara Peninsula.  Dereenataggart stone circle stands in a field very close to the road just to the north of Castletownbere.  Called a recumbent stone circle, one monolithic stone lies on its side while the other stones…

We left Cobh this morning and headed southwest to the Beara Peninsula.  We passed the Belvelly Castle, a 14th C tower house, on the edge of the River Lee just north of Cobh. Typical Ireland, we seem to pass by castles every few miles! Our first stop was Sheridans Cheesemongers in Cork. The Cheese Bible…

Cobh was known as Queenstown from 1849 to 1920, named for Queen Victoria who visited in 1849.  The name was changed to Cobh during the Irish War of Independence.  Cobh is a Gaelicization of the English word cove (and is pronounced the same).  Cobh was one of the major transatlantic Irish ports; 2.5 million of…

Who would have ever thought we would be waking up in Ireland a little bit sunburned! We have been having the most amazing weather so far. And in addition to being out on the water yesterday, we are both looking a bit rosy! The Castle in Kilkenny is a restored fortress filled with Celtic and…

Happy Anniversary!! The Saltees are a pair of small islands lying 5km off the southern coast of County Wexford.  The islands are privately owned and largely unoccupied and are now a protected habitat home to more than 220 bird species. Visitors are allowed on the larger of the two islands for a few hours each…