IRELAND: The Ring of Kerry

The Ring of Kerry is known for its natural beauty, historical sites and unique winding roads with charming towns and villages. 

It is located in the Iveragh Peninsula, in southwest Ireland and is considered to be the edge of Europe. 

The area has ancient forts, glacial valleys and lakes, and, mountain peaks that include Ireland’s tallest mountain, Carrauntoohil.

Ireland is often referred to as the "Emerald Isle" because the island is so green.

 

The landscape is dominated by green hills and most of the Irish countryside is dotted with farms and national parks. There are so many different shades of green that make it astounding. 

The Ring of Kerry has beaches, mountains, and lakes.

My sister Marie for once is not leading us astray - yet.

We did a hike at the very tip of the peninsula. 

We found lots of sheep.

We also went to Loughe (Lake) Leane and Ross Castle near the city of Killarney. 

Everyone was telling us "you should have been here a couple of days ago. We just finished 3 weeks of glorious weather!" Which meant that we weren't quite that lucky. 

There were uncovered boats to tour the lakes. 

We opted for the covered boat tour on Loughe Leane. It was not a good weather day, so we pretty much had the whole boat to ourselves.

Ross Castle, also known as O'Donoghue Castle, is a 15th-century tower house and keep located on the shore of Lough Leane. 

It was built by the local ruling clan, the O'Donoghue Mor, and became their chief seat.  

The castle is a typical example of the stronghold of an Irish Chieftain during the Middle Ages. The castle is surrounded by a defensive wall with flanking towers, two of which still remain intact today. 

Ross Castle was the last place in Munster to hold out against Cromwell,

Close by is another, much more "modern" home, Muckross House built in 1843 by the Herbert family.

In preparation for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1861 the Herbert's renovated the house and gardens. Unfortunately the costs caused the Herbert's "great financial difficulty" and consequently the house had to be sold.

The castle was purchased by the Guinness brewing family. They didn't live in the house, but rented it out to wealthy groups as a hunting lodge. 

In 1911 it was sold to William Bowers Bourn, a wealthy Californian mining magnate. 

He and his wife gifted it to their daughter Maud and her Irish husband Arthur Rose Vincent as a wedding present. 

The couple lived in the home until Maud's death from pneumonia in 1929.

Several years later, in 1932, Muckross House and its 11,000 acres were donated by her parents to the Irish Nation and became the first National Park in Ireland! 

It now makes up much of Killarney National Park in the Ring of Kerry.