Things to do in County Kerry

Aghadoe stands on a hilltop west of Killarney in County Kerry with panoramic views across the Lower Lake and MacGillycuddy's Reeks. The site preserves the lower courses of a round tower, a carved Romanesque doorway, and the ruins of a medieval cathedral associated with the bishopric of Ardfert and Aghadoe. Round towers served as bell towers, treasuries and places of refuge for monastic communities from the ninth to twelfth centuries. The hilltop position commanding the Lakes of Killarney National Park has attracted artists and travellers for over two centuries and remains one of the finest viewpoints in Kerry.

Ballinskelligs Castle occupies one of the most dramatically exposed positions of any castle on Ireland's Atlantic coast. Built on a narrow coastal promontory in County Kerry, the ruin stands beside the sea with open views across Ballinskelligs Bay toward the Skellig Islands on the horizon, and its location immediately explains why it was placed here. This was a castle tied not merely to land but to maritime movement and control, guarding a small but useful harbour in a region where seaborne traffic, weather and the threat of attack from the sea were constant considerations. The castle is commonly associated with the McCarthy Mór dynasty and dates from the sixteenth century. The McCarthy lords were the dominant Gaelic power in much of Munster during this period and the castles and tower houses they built or controlled along the Kerry coastline reflect both their resources and the strategic importance they placed on controlling Atlantic anchorages. Piracy, raiding and the movement of goods between Ireland, the Iberian Peninsula and Britain were all features of the maritime world these coastal castles inhabited, and a fortified tower beside a harbour served a practical defensive role that was entirely distinct from the land-based authority of more inland tower houses. One of the most memorable aspects of Ballinskelligs is the way ruin and natural setting work together to create an atmosphere of considerable power. The stone shell, battered by Atlantic conditions and softened by lichen and centuries of weathering, feels inseparable from the coastline around it. Unlike castles enclosed within later town development or estate gardens, this one is animated by sea light, wind and the perpetual movement of the Atlantic, and it often feels less like an isolated monument than a natural feature of the shoreline itself. Ballinskelligs Castle is especially compelling because it connects several strands of this region's identity: Gaelic lordship, coastal defence, maritime commerce and the spectacular scenery of the Iveragh Peninsula and the Wild Atlantic Way. The nearby Skellig Michael, with its extraordinary early Christian monastery perched on a sea stack twelve kilometres offshore, adds further historical and visual depth to one of Ireland's most rewarding coastal destinations.

Ballybunnion Castle stands on a clifftop headland in north County Kerry with the Atlantic on three sides, commanding dramatic views over Ballybunnion beach and the Shannon estuary. The sixteenth-century tower house was a stronghold of the MacMahon family and later the FitzGeralds, its clifftop position making it one of the most defensible sites on the Kerry coast. Ballybunnion town is renowned for its beaches and its golf club, one of the world's finest links courses that has attracted US presidents and international professionals. The surrounding north Kerry coastline offers exceptional beaches, wildlife and views across to Clare.

Ballycarbery Castle overlooks the sea near the mouth of the Valencia River about 3km from Caherciveen in County Kerry. The castle is in ruins, and the whole back wall has fallen down. The castle was surrounded by a defensive wall, but more than half of it has gone. You can still see the arrow slits along the remaining parts of the wall. A staircase can be seen inside one part of the wall. The ground floor of the castle had several rooms, of which only one has roof and walls intact. There are two staircases up to the first floor, one of which is still in good condition. The second floor is not accessible, as the stairs were probably against the back wall which has gone. Facilities The castle is in a pleasant location with views over the sea and surrounding countryside. It makes an impressive sight when seen from Ballycarbery Beach, especially at high tide. The present Ballycarbery Castle was built in the 16th century, although there had been an earlier building on the site since the 14th century. It was a seat of the MacCarthy Mores, but may have been occupied by their wardens the O'Connells. During the 1590s it was granted to Sir Valentine Browne in the 1590s after the death of Daniel McCarthy More, but was taken back by the Macarthys during the wars between the Royalist and Confederate forces in the 1640s. Oliver Cromwell's troops severely damaged the castle in 1652 when it was attacked with cannons. Local farmers removed stones from the damaged castle for building.

Ballyheigue Castle near the village of Ballyheigue in north County Kerry is an early nineteenth-century Gothic Revival ruin built for the Crosbie family, the principal landlords of this coastal district. The building features battlemented towers and pointed openings in the picturesque manner fashionable among the Irish Ascendancy, set within a demesne overlooking Ballyheigue Bay and Tralee Bay beyond. The Crosbie estate declined through the nineteenth century, reflecting the broader collapse of Ascendancy landownership that followed the Land Acts. The Ballyheigue coastline today is celebrated for its beach and traditional seaside village atmosphere, with views toward the Shannon and the Dingle Peninsula.

Ballymalis Castle is a ruined tower house in the Laune valley near Beaufort in County Kerry, standing at the foot of MacGillycuddy's Reeks, the highest mountain range in Ireland. The compact rectangular tower reflects the Kerry tower house tradition of the later medieval period. The castle's position close to the River Laune, which drains Lough Leane and connects the Killarney lakes to the sea at Castlemaine, reflects the importance of river routes in the geography of medieval Kerry. The setting beneath the jagged ridgeline of the Reeks forms part of the Ring of Kerry and Killarney National Park landscape.

Ballyseede Castle is set on a 30 acre site only 3 miles from Tralee in the extreme south west of Ireland. Access to the fully restored castle is via a winding carriage driveway. It is built over three floors with two curved bows to the front and a battlemented parapet. Inside the castle has large columns leading to a grand staircase, two drawing rooms with ornate plasterwork and fireplaces, a library and dining room. Facilities Today's castle has been transformed into a 4 star hotel offering 23 bedrooms and suites in the transformed stable block and the main castle. Rooms in the main castle have high ceilings and four poster beds and the hotel also offers a number of rooms especially for families. The hotel offers two dining experiences, one in the Library Bar where guest's can sit around the open fire, or in the more formal dining room which has gained a reputation for fine dining with its five course meals. Where ever guests choose to eat all food is sourced locally and seasonal. The hotel also has its own team of wedding coordinators who tailor make wedding packages to individual requirements. They offer a range of suites which hold up to a maximum of 220 guests with free overnight accommodation for the bride and groom; exclusive use of the castle can even be arranged. Ballyseede Castle was the garrison for the Earl's of Desmond; the Fitzgerald's, who refused to swear allegiance to the crown resulting in the Desmond Wars which took place over 300 years. The wars finally ceased in 1584 when Gerald; 16th Earl of Desmond, was beheaded in the estate at Ballyseede and his head exhibited in a cage on London Bridge. The Castle was confiscated and handed over to Robert Blennerhassett for the nominal rent of a red rose which had to be presented each year on Midsummer's Day. The family remained at the castle until 1966 after which time it was transformed into a hotel. Legends A ghost called 'Hilda' is said to haunt the castle's basement and each year on the 24th March she makes her presence known.

Carrigafoyle Castle can be found 2 miles north of Ballylongford on the south side of the River Shannon. It is situated in a channel between the mainland and Carrig island on the very south west tip of Ireland The castle is accessed by a raised stone pathway which becomes inaccessible during very high tides so caution is advised. Carrigafoyle Castle is made up of courses of thin limestone bricks in the style of a tower house. It rises over 86 feet in height and each of its five floors comprises of a small room with oblong chamber off the stone staircase. The house is exposed on the landward side due to a breach in the wall and is shielded by a wooded island against the estuary. The castle is a national monument but has been left in its ruined state. Facilities The castle has been partially restored and various internal rooms and staircases are accessible. There are no visitor facilities, but this need not detract from the medieval experience of seeing the castle. The castle was built in the 1490's by Conor Laith O'Connor-Kerry in a strategic position overlooking the shipping lanes that brought goods to Limerick. To the north on the seaward side the castle is offered protection by a small wooded island and on the landward side to the south and west there were double walls enclosing a moat. The walls extended into the water and made a dock capable of landing ships that were up to 100 tons in weight, their design was so great that they still did not allow boats access within the inner wall. In 1580 the castle was attacked from land and sea by Sir William Pelham in the Desmond Wars, the bombardment took place over two days and used very heavy weapons including culverin; huge naval guns, and cannons. On Palm Sunday the castle was taken after the tower was badly damaged by cannon fire; collapsing and killing many of those inside. Those who survived were massacred, in total 50 Irish and 19 Spanish lives were lost. The castle is has never been repaired due to the amount of damage it sustained, but it has been made safe. It still stands today in ruins with parts such as the moat and outer wall still visible.

The Conor Pass on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry is the highest road pass in Ireland, crossing the central ridge of the peninsula at approximately 456 metres above sea level in a route of extraordinary mountain scenery that descends from Dingle town on the south to Cloghane on the north in a series of hairpin bends and steep gradients above the glacial corrie lakes and the deep valley below. The combination of the altitude, the views across Dingle Bay to the south and Brandon Bay to the north and the dramatic mountain landscape of the pass itself creates one of the finest mountain road experiences in Ireland. The view from the summit of the pass encompasses Dingle Harbour and the full length of Dingle Bay to the south with the Iveragh Peninsula and the distant Kerry mountains on the far shore, and to the north the great arc of Brandon Bay extending to Brandon Head and the Atlantic beyond. The mountain of Mount Brandon, the highest peak in Ireland outside Kerry's MacGillycuddy's Reeks, rises to the northwest and provides the dominant skyline feature of the northern view, its great bulk shaped by the same Ice Age glaciers whose work is visible in the corrie lakes below the pass. The pass road is narrow in places and unsuitable for large vehicles in either direction, and the combination of the narrow road, the hairpin bends and the spectacular scenery makes the Conor Pass one of the most memorable and most slightly nerve-wracking mountain driving experiences in Ireland.

The Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry is one of the finest and most varied coastal landscapes in Ireland, a mountainous finger of land projecting westward into the Atlantic whose combination of the great mountain of Mount Brandon, the spectacular sea cliffs of Slea Head, the archaeological richness of the Fahan group of early Christian monuments and the character of the Irish-speaking Gaeltacht community centred on Dingle town creates a destination of extraordinary variety and natural and cultural beauty. The peninsula is the most westerly point of the European mainland and the westernmost Irish-speaking community in Europe. The Dingle town itself, the largest settlement on the peninsula, combines excellent seafood restaurants, traditional pubs and music with a genuinely functioning fishing port in a combination that has made it one of the most popular visitor destinations in Kerry while retaining more authentic character than many comparable tourist towns. The famous dolphin Fungi who lived in Dingle Bay for over three decades provided an additional attraction to the many visitors who took boat trips to see him. The Slea Head Drive around the western end of the peninsula traverses the greatest concentration of early Christian monuments in Ireland, including the Gallarus Oratory, the most perfectly preserved early Christian stone church in the world, the Fahan beehive huts and the Kilmalkedar church complex, in a landscape of dramatic coastal scenery that represents the western edge of European civilisation in one of its most ancient and most authentically preserved forms.

Dunbeg Fort is an Iron Age promontory fort on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, jutting into the Atlantic on three sides with sheer cliff drops and defended on land by concentric earthen banks and a stone wall. The innermost enclosure contains a clochán dry-stone beehive hut and a souterrain underground passage. Dating from roughly 500 BC, the fort may have continued in use into the early Christian period. Situated on the Slea Head Drive, one of Ireland's most celebrated scenic routes, the surrounding hillsides contain one of the world's largest concentrations of early Christian clochán clusters. Dunbeg is managed by a local community trust and is open to visitors.

Gallarus Castle is a late medieval tower house on the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, associated with the Ferriter family, lords of the western Dingle Peninsula from the fourteenth century. The most celebrated Ferriter was the seventeenth-century poet Piaras Feiritéar, the last Gaelic lord in Munster to resist Cromwellian authority, who was executed in 1653 and whose Irish-language poetry remains among the finest of its period. The castle stands near the famous Gallarus Oratory, a perfectly preserved dry-stone corbelled church of the seventh to ninth century and one of the iconic buildings of early Christian Ireland.

The Gap of Dunloe is a dramatic mountain pass in County Kerry cut through the McGillycuddy's Reeks by glacial action during the last Ice Age, a narrow valley of approximately six kilometres connecting Beaufort in the south to the Black Valley in the north in a route of extraordinary mountain scenery that traverses some of the finest glacial landscape in Ireland. The Gap is traditionally experienced by pony and trap from Kate Kearney's Cottage at the southern entrance, a combination of transport and scenery that has been providing tourists with one of the most memorable Kerry experiences since the Victorian period. The glacial valley of the Gap was carved by a glacier flowing south from the ice field of the Reeks, the enormous erosive power of the ice deepening and widening the pre-existing river valley into the U-shaped profile characteristic of glacial erosion. The five glacial lakes that occupy the valley floor at various points along its length, the largest being the Black Lake at the head of the pass, fill the over-deepened sections of the valley floor where the glacier scoured most aggressively into the underlying Old Red Sandstone rock. The views from the head of the pass into the Black Valley beyond, one of the most remote and most beautiful valleys in Kerry, provide the most dramatic single moment of the traverse. The Black Valley has no electricity supply connected to the national grid and its farms and houses retain a degree of isolation unusual in a Kerry valley accessible by road.

Killarney National Park holds the distinction of being Ireland's first national park, designated in 1932 when Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish state, and it remains one of the country's most visited and most beautiful natural areas. The park covers approximately 10,000 hectares of mountain, lake, ancient woodland and bogland in the heart of County Kerry, protected by a ring of dramatic MacGillycuddy's Reeks peaks to the west and centred on the famous Lakes of Killarney: Lough Leane, Muckross Lake and the Upper Lake. The park holds some of the most significant ancient oak woodland in Ireland, remnants of the forest that once blanketed much of the island. The Reenadinna Yew Wood on the shores of Muckross Lake is one of the largest yew woodlands in western Europe and has an almost primeval atmosphere, its gnarled trees growing from limestone pavement in dense, cathedral-like shade. The mild, wet climate created by the influence of the Atlantic Ocean allows the woodland to support an extraordinary density of mosses, liverworts and ferns, and the park's plant communities include rare species found only here and in similar Atlantic fringe habitats in western Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula. Wildlife in the park is exceptional. Killarney supports the only native herd of red deer in Ireland, descended from populations that have lived here continuously since the last Ice Age. The park is also home to the white-tailed eagle, reintroduced after an absence of a century and now breeding successfully in the area. The lakes and rivers hold brown trout and the Atlantic salmon that gives the local fishing such a strong reputation, while sika deer, introduced in the nineteenth century, are now common throughout the woodland. Muckross House, a Victorian mansion completed in 1843, stands on the shore of Muckross Lake and provides the park's main built heritage attraction. The house was famously visited by Queen Victoria in 1861 and its richly furnished rooms reflect the lifestyle of the wealthy Anglo-Irish landowning class. Traditional working farms on the estate recreate agricultural practices from the 1930s and 1940s and are particularly popular with families. Nearby, the ruins of Muckross Abbey, a fifteenth-century Franciscan friary, stand within an ancient yew grove in a setting of exceptional beauty. The Gap of Dunloe, a narrow glacial valley south of Killarney town, provides one of the most dramatic excursions in the park. The traditional way to experience it is by jaunting car, the horse-drawn carriages unique to Killarney, though it can also be walked or cycled. The boat trips across the lakes connecting the Gap with Ross Castle provide a perfect day out in any weather.

Ladies View in the Killarney National Park is the most celebrated viewpoint in Kerry and one of the most famous scenic vistas in Ireland, a roadside stopping point on the main Killarney to Kenmare road from which the full extent of the Upper Lake, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountains and the characteristic Killarney landscape of wooded lake shores, mountain backdrop and open water is revealed in a panorama of considerable power and beauty. The view takes its name from the Queen's Ladies-in-Waiting who stopped here during Queen Victoria's royal visit to Killarney in 1861 and expressed their admiration for the landscape. The view encompasses the Upper Lake, Muckross Lake and part of Lough Leane spread across the floor of the valley below, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks with their dramatic profiles rising above the southern shore and the characteristic Killarney woodland of sessile oak, arbutus and yew covering the shores and islands of the lakes in the combination of water, mountain and woodland that has made Killarney one of the most celebrated landscapes in Ireland since the eighteenth century. The Killarney National Park surrounding the view is one of the finest national parks in Ireland and contains the largest surviving area of native woodland in the country, the sessile oak and arbutus woodland covering the lake shores in a vegetation type that was once widespread across the moist Atlantic regions of Ireland and has been reduced to a few fragments of which the Killarney woods are the finest.