The Dingle Peninsula

So much to see.  So little time!  We left our farmhouse for the day to explore the Slea Head Scenic Route.

Prehistoric Beehive Huts

Our first stop was at the Prehistoric Beehive Huts.  According to what we learned, these were probably once single family dwellings.  They were built in a circle, with each layer of stone placed a little closer to the center than the one under it, until there was just a small opening at the top that could be closed with one stone.  No mortar was using in building these huts (called corbelling).  It's hard to say how old they are, because corbelling was used as long ago as 3100 B.C. and as recently as the 1950s!  The huts on Slea Head Drive were probably built in the 12th century, when the Irish people were pushed off the good land out to the edges of the Dingle Peninsula.

Ryan's Daughter Beach

Next stop - the beach where parts of Ryan's Daughter were filmed!  Have you watched the move?  I loved it!  I watched it before our trip, and was very excited about seeing some of the places used in the filming.  We looked for the schoolhouse where Robert Mitchum (as Charles Shaughnessy) taught and lived, but we couldn't find it.  Either it has been torn down, or we drove by it without recognizing it.

                                   Don't do it Art!                                  Denise and Art are making a cairn of their own.

Dunquin (Dún Chaoin) Pier

I had seen this pier in so many pictures before we visited Ireland, and was excited to visit it in person.   We walked down the steep path to the pier, where the ferry leaves to take visitors to the Blasket Islands.

Gallarus Oratory

This tiny church was built around the 7th or 8th century, and resembles an upside-down boat.  It was built and used by local farmers, and is made only of local stones fitted together with no mortar.  It has remained waterproof and in near-perfect condition, and has not been restored because it has not needed it.  It has withstood the elements for over 1200 years!

Kilmalkedar Church Ruins

Kilmalkedar is a medieval early-Christian site known for its 12th century Romanesque church and several interesting artifacts such as an alphabet stone, sundial, large stone cross, and Ogham stone.  I didn't get a picture of it, but the Ogham stone at this church has a hole in it, and it supposedly was used to make deals.  If you touched fingers through the hole in the stone (which was over a grave) the deal would be binding until death.  (Maybe like swearing on your relative's grave?)

The stone cross in front of the church

                                 Tim is examining the sundial.             Beautiful Romanesque doorway

Across the dirt road from the church is St. Brendan's House, or the Priest's House.  I really wanted to explore it, but a locked gate blocked the entrance.

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So much to see and do on Slea Head Drive on the Dingle Peninsula, and we did about all we could do in one day.  But...

"Tomorrow is another day."

Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind - she was Irish, right?