The Dingle Peninsula

Thursday found us driving the Dingle Peninsula, and I must say that this is one of the most beautiful places in Ireland that I have ever been.  The water is an amazing shade of blue and there are so many magnificent views.  We were stopping every few minutes to jump out and take pictures!  Beware... I have posted a lot of them for you!!!

Mom is getting her Leonardo di Caprio going!

Then the wind about knocked her down...

And she got super tickled!  This is one of my favorite pictures!

Town of Dingle

Isn't he so sweet?

This is a part of a defensive rampart

 We visited a small ring fort with beehive huts.   These huts, also called Clocháns,  are dry-stone huts with a corbelled roof, dating from the early Middle Ages or earlier. Most archaeologists think these structures were built on the southwestern coast of Ireland since the Bronze Age. The walls are very thick, up to 1.5 meters. The stones are stacked and angled downward so water runs off.  
Many occur in religious contexts such as used by the monks following Saint Patrick while many archeologist believe they may have been the home of a farmer and the wall protected his family and animals when needed.  

Nana and the grandbabies

We visited the Great Blasket Center.  The Blasket Islands are a group of 6 islands off the tip of the Dingle Peninsula.  The islands were home to as many as 160 people and dwindled down due to younger people immigrating to the states.   In 1953, with only 22 inhabitants, the government evacuated the people saying that they couldn't guarantee their safety.  

Life on the islands was hard.  The people there lived in primitive homes and dealt with merciless weather at times.  In 1947, a storm made it impossible for the people there to reach the outside world for a couple of weeks and emergency supplies had to be sent.  Each family had a cow, a few sheep, and a plot of potatoes.  They used peat from the land and were fisherman.  They survived the famine due to the fact that they were not completely dependent on the potato.  These people formed a true Gaelic community and Gaelic was the only language spoken.  To this day, this area of Ireland is where children come from all over to learn Gaelic and the culture during their summer vacations.

Three writers arose from this village with vivid details of life on these harsh islands.  They are the ones who kept the true Irish folk tales alive and are internationally renowned. 

There is a ferry that goes across so one can walk around the island but can only go when the weather is good.  It was described as a ghost town overrun by rabbits.  We didn't go on the ferry due to time, but I would love to go visit.  

The beautiful stained glass in the Great Blasket Center

The Blasket Islands

This is an island down the road called the "Sleeping Giant".  Do you see him with his hands folded over his belly?

Next stop was the Gallarus Oratory.  

This is one of Ireland's best preserved early Christian churches built about 1,300 years ago.  

How many times can you walk up and touch something that is 1,300 years old?

Legend says that if you climbed out through the window that your soul would be cleansed.  Those had to be some skinny monks!

We then visited the beautiful ruined church of Kilmalkedar.  This church was built in the 12th century when England tried to centralize their rule and replace the old monastic settlements.  The Romanesque church is surrounded by a densely populated graveyard which has risen noticeably above the fields over the centuries.  The cross below is one of the oldest medieval tombs.  It is much shorter now due to the rising graveyard and now sits at an odd angle.  

Below is an ogham stone which was here 900 years before the church was built.  It is notched with the Ogham script which is like a morse code that was used in the 3rd and 4th centuries.  It marked a grave which showed that this was a pre-Christian holy spot.  One interesting thing is the hole drilled in the top of the stone.  This is where people came to "seal the deal".  People would stand on the graves of their ancestors and in front of the church they would "swear to God" and touch thumbs through the hole.  People from all over come here to renew their vows and we did!!!

An ogham stone in the church

I love these old  graves and especially this one with the shamrocks

Dinner time found us back in Dingle where we had a wonderful meal at John Benny Moriarty's.  The server was a hoot and I thought he would be perfect for Mom!  Then we could all come visit, but he had a wife.  His third but he told us he was rethinking it!!  

After dinner,we all meandered the town and shops where we came across Murphy's Ice Cream.  We try to never miss out on ice cream and we couldn't resist the name of Murphy (like our four legger!).  I am so glad we didn't miss out.  This was the BEST strawberry ice cream I have ever put in my mouth.  It is all hand made from Irish products.  Oh my... heaven.  I sampled the Balsamic ice cream which wasn't bad but was excellent with the strawberry!  I got my usual mint chocolate chip which was very different because it was a fresh mint taste.  I want more!!!

This day was one of my favorites.   I could live right on the edge of Ireland and be happy!  A writer once described this area as the "soul of Ireland" and I believe it.  It was magical!