Muckross House, Killarney

Believe it or not, I have now caught up with my photographer in getting pictures out to you. (There are, of course, many more pictures, but you now have a sampling of everything). Here is the last set - probably no more until he returns from US in late October.

Muckross House, a mansion on beautiful grounds on the Lakes of Killarney. It was bought by an American in the early 20th century as a wedding gift for his daughter - a little cash to spare, I guess, as he was with PG&E. It was built in the 1700's, I think. The wife who participated in the building was a very good water colour artist and there was an exhibit of her paintings in the house when we were there.

Listowel Races

The Listowel Races - a traditional "Harvest Fair" event. We had fun, which is good because we certainly did not get rich! We parked at a friend's house very near the track, walked down, and enjoyed the day.

Dana's mountain climb.

I am trying a new technique - I'm typing the narrative before I put in the pictures - we'll see! A couple of weeks ago, while I was doing therapy in Cahersiveen, Dana decided to take a mountain walk. It was called the loop, and he thought it might be hilly, but not bad. He told me he might be just a little late (in fact, he bought me a mystery to read in the car after therapy in case I had to wait a few minutes!!). Well, off he went, and according to him, the path just kept going up. He'd reach what looked like peaks, then keep going up. It was a foggy day and by the time he got to the top he was in the clouds! Then he started down, but somehow missed the path, so ended up descending through sheep herds, heather, and lots of rocks and holes. He's lucky he didn't break an ankle. And, he's lucky he was late enough that I had passed mad and gotten to worried!! I asked if he was glad he took his camera, since I'm sure it was kind of hard to carry on that sort of a non-trail and he said, oh yes, he wouldn't have had nearly as much fun without the camera. As you can see the pictures are great, so it was probably worth it!

More pictures from Kenmare/Cahersiveen Areas

To left - Kell's Marina, between Glenbeigh and Cahersiveen - a beautiful little marina and beach.

The 2 pictures below are in Reenagross National Park in Kenmare. The large building is the Kenmare Park Hotel. We have taken several nice walks in this area - there's a lot of international foliage (labelled ie: North American, Asian) and a bat sanctuary. This is at high tide; at low tide it's not quite as pretty!

Trip to County Clare

During the weekend of July 22, we had to be out of the house where we were living in Kilflynn, because it had been previously promised to someone. We at first thought this was a great inconvenience, but it turned out to be a great blessing! We decided to go north, to County Clare, and we had a great trip. We left Listowel after therapy on the Saturday and drove to Tarbert to take the car ferry across the Shannon to Clare (1st picture). We then drove up the coast and we think got the last B&B room available in the area near the Cliffs of Moher - and was it gorgeous (2nd picture). We loved it (and there were 2 resident Irish setters, a bonus for us!). We toured the Cliffs of Moher, which are gorgeous and amazing. However, our real favorite was Doolin, north of the Cliffs, looking back at them - the really large rocks on the coast pictured below. Dana walked a little on the Burren Way (we had trouble finding it and I was too tired by then, so sat in a pub :)! We had a nice pub also near our B&B where we spent that evening (trad music group below). Then, on Monday morning we drove to Ennis, a quaint and pretty little town, and had tea with Ciara Keane, my recruiter - then back to Killarney where we spent the night with friends and returned to our own home on Tuesday after therapy. A great weekend!


Car ferry from Tarbert
Sea Haven B&B in Liscannor (what a view!)
Traditional music group in Liscannor pub

Above, view from B&B, below and to left - the Cliffs of Moher (sometimes Mohr)



These are all Doolin, one of our very favorite spots so far!



SS Presbyterians - this is the moment I
told you about - it was 11:00 your time and The Burren Way
I was dangling my feet in the Atlantic and
thinking of you!


(left) Pitch & Putt is a BIG deal here!
Do these cows appreciate their view? (right)









Ennis above and to left

Some Miscellaneous Interesting pictures

Above our lunch spot - every Friday (unless it's pouring down rain, which has only happened once) we stop here, between Glenbeigh (morning therapy) and Cahersiveen (afternoon therapy) and eat the lunch we have packed. This is our handy-dandy blue thermal lunch kit. In the background is the Dingle Peninsula. For a while there were sheep grazing right below this table, but they have moved to their winter quarters, I guess. On right- a pay "toilet" (as we call them here, not bathroom or restroom) - put your coin in, the door automatically opens, and you have a set amount of time - just enough! This one is in the middle of Ennis, but they are around many places, and seem like a pretty good idea!



These 2 are an idea of traffic - they are in Killarney, right down town - on the left, note the lady in the electric wheelchair entering the round-about! On the right - tractors are common sights everywhere this time of year, and they are not necessarily slow-pokes. They drive right down town and park, as far as we can tell so the farmer can do the shopping or have tea or a pint!

Dingle Peninsula

These are pictures on the Dingle Peninsula. It is a very beautiful area, and is quite renowned (and a tourist mecca) since the filming of Ryan's Daughter there. Also, it is the main location of a strong Irish/Gaelic movement (as is all of Kerry). There is a controversy right now - a politician ordained that it should be called "An Dingean", its Gaelic name. However, many citizens are up in arms - either wanting to use both the English and the Gaelic, or just upset because it was ordained in kind of a high-handed way. Anyway, there is now going to be a non-binding plebiscite to decide the official name, but the pertinent official says he will ignore the outcome - ah, politics! I liked the pictures of the street scenes, so wanted to share them as well as the beautiful scenery! We still need to make a trip to the east side of the peninsula - a pretty beach near the town of Inch, which nearly touches the Rossbeigh Beach across the bay on the Iveragh Peninsula, where we drive every Friday. Also, near Dingle town is Conor Pass, the highest pass on this side of the county, which is reputed to be very beautiful - sometime soon, or when one ofyou comes to visit!

Kenmare, Cahersiveen, and Valentia Island

The therapy schedule is Kenmare on Thursday and Cahersiveen on Friday. These are two of the prettiest areas, and the prettiest drives, in County Kerry. Both are on the Ring of Kerry. (The only problem with the drives is they are long and parts are very narrow). During the first few visits, we had some time to sight see, and also Dana has time while I am doing therapy. Later we will have even more beautiful shots from these areas, but for now these are a good beginning. Kenmare is colorful and has a nice pier. The colorful buildings (bottom), carriages (loafing on left), and busy shops (above the colorful buildings) are shown here. Quill's, shown in the picture, is where I finally found the Irish wool sweater that I craved at the price I could afford - and I have really enjoyed it.

Cahersiveen is on the Atlantic - the town itself isn't gorgeous, but it's the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell, a major historical hero here. The top right is a scene near Cahersiveen. The drive from Kilorglin to Cahersiveen is beautiful, through mountains bays and marinas - notably Rossbeigh Beach and Kells Marina. And, prettiest of all is Valencia (also known as Valentia; place name spellings are a moving target here!) Island. You cross from Cahersiveen to Knightstown on a ferry (until September 30 - after that you have to go way around to a bridge at Portmagee, which by the way is said to be the closest point to the US). For the first few weeks of therapy, we worked on Valentia - it was great, but made the trip about 1/2 hour longer, so now we work in Cahersiveen. Anyway, the other 3 pictures on this page are the island - lighthouse, a Knightstown street, and the harbor.