First off, I forgot (I think) to show you our delicious dinner at home one night – barbequed sausages with potato, veg, and wine. And nice flowers on the table too.

Saturday morning is linen change and clean up day. The girls were coming in at 10:30 to do that, so we headed out early to go downtown for breakfast at a new place, the Hare’s Corner. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch. It just opened about four weeks ago. I had the breakfast quesadilla; Elaine had an omelet. It was good. I guess they don’t have a web site yet. At least I couldn’t find it.

After breakfast Elaine stopped in at St Mary’s to light the daily candle for Paul. I snapped the odd picture.

Then we set off on a drive to to Fenit Harbour and Beach, just the other side of Tralee . The temperature was in the 50’s with a breeze, so we didn’t expect a lot of action at Fenit (where we had never been before). Amazingly there were people on the beach, people swimming, and one guy swimming with his dog. We were wrapped up tightly in our jackets. Here are some shots of the beach and the lighthouse on an island in the harbour.

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Near the end of the pier there are some interesting stones with explanatory signs. To get there you walk by lots of very nice boats in dry dock, and there is a statue commemorating the local fishermen. And there’s a mermaid statue too.

Finally at the very end of the harbour pier there is a little park commemorating St Brendan. You heard all about him in a prior post.

Back to Dingle then where we both stopped at Curran’s for a pint. We had a nice chat with Mr. Flannery. He’s a retired fisherman and his family now runs the Fish Box Restaurant where we have twice had lunch this trip.

Dinner was a return visit to the Half Door. It was very busy and we sat near a wedding party of 11. They were having a great time and were fun to watch. I had oysters followed by a seafood medley and crème brûlée for dessert. Elaine had a crab gratinée followed by local caught grilled cod and a white chocolate ganache.

After dinner it was off to a busy O’Flaherty’s for some music. Everyplace is very busy this week because it’s long weekend (bank holiday Monday) and there is a festival going on in town. More about the festival tomorrow. Here are some snaps and a brief music interlude from O’Flaherty’s. The group sitting next to us is a mother and her four daughters from Kilarney, in town for the festival. Elaine had a long chat with the Mom.

Time flies. Friday was foggy and rainy in the morning. Sunny and the warmest day yet in the afternoon. More rain early evening. We walked into town together – EGAD – and did some shopping. Mr. Kennedy’s for chicken breasts for tonight’s dinner. The Little Cheese Shop for some new cheeses including Young Buck Blue and Ash Covered Goat’s Cheese. O’Connor’s for strawberries, potatoes, onions, and some other veg. And the book store for me to get a new Ireland Road Atlas which we’ll need when we leave Dingle in two weeks for Donegal.

On the way into town we pass some row houses called The Wood. It’s a s strange name since there are no trees nearby. They look quite pedestrian from the street, but the back of the houses are directly on the water and are quite nice. Then there are some pics from Kennedy’s Butcher Shop. And we saw some young girls kayaking in the harbor.

Afternoon was mostly at home. I went into town (Curran’s) for the mandatory afternoon Guinness. Dinner was at home. Delicious barbequed chicken breasts with potatoes and peas. And wine, of course.

Finally an Irish weather day – cloudy, drizzly, foggy, and damp. Nice. We did next to nothing save for dinner out. So it’s just odds and ends today.

I did go into town for the odd pint at Curran’s. Also stopped in the Library to return some books and get a new one. I am now eager to read about the portion of Irish history from the Easter Rising in 1916 through the establishment of the Irish Free State (and the partition of Ireland) through the Civil War in 2025-ish.. So I am reading this book, a good mix of pictures and text. Should you be more interested, there is a great website with an abbreviated but accuracte account about this period and more here. I find Irish history fascinating.

Other than that there was just dinner at the Chart House, our first repeat visit to our top three (or maybe it’s four) restaurants. Let’s say four: the Chart House, Ashe’s, the Half Door, and Out of the Blue. It’s hard for me to pass up the rack of lamb here, and I didn’t pass it up. We started with kir royales and had Tinpot Hut Pinot Noir from New Zealand with the meal. On second thought saying “just dinner” does it a disservice.

Elaine: Starter: Dukkah Crusted Dingle Goats Cheese Bon Bons, Nectarine and Orange Relish, Carpaccio of Beetroot and Aged Balsamic Glaze – Main: Pan Seared Fillets of Monkfish, Braised Leeks, Cherry Tomatoes, Mussels Poached in Saffron, Herb Nage – Dessert: Dark Chocolate Parfait, White Chocolate & Vanilla Bean Cremeux, Salted Caramel, Candied Pecan Tuille, Chocolate Crumb.

Joe: Starter: Braised Sticky Pork Belly, seared Atlantic Scallops, Roasted Fennel and Date Compote – Main: Roast Rack of Kerry Lamb, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Fig & Red Onion Chutney, Rosemary Jus – Dessert: Selection of Our Own Homemade Ice Cream, Served With Praline, & Spiced Chocolate Sauce.

I left out two pictures from our trip to Tralee yesterday. These are taken at an overlook on the N86 just outside the town of Camp. Most times here there are clouds, fog, rain, and/or drizzle. Today was delightful.

So we didn’t walk this morning. The weather was OK but we had been pre-notified that Dingle would without power from 9 am to about 5 pm as Electricity Ireland did maintenance work. So we showered and got out of town. To Tralee. Tralee is the commercial capital of County Kerry. Kilarney is the more famous tourist town. Dingle is the much smaller, once hidden, now discovered gem.

Anyway Tralee is actually a very pleasant city. It’s most famous for annual (in August) Rose of Tralee festival (much celebrated in song). We re-visited the Kerry County Museum. It’s an interesting place to spend an hour or two.

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First off, you will learn everything you need to know about Roger Casement, an Irish patriot and freedom fighter, who was executed for his part in a plan to import guns from Germany as part of the fight for Irish independence in the Easter Rising of 1916. His is a long, complicated story.

There was an interesting temporary exhibit of works by local artists that Elaine especially enjoyed.

There is one room dedicated to Antarctic explorer Tom Crean who participated in several trips to the South Pole with Sir Ernest Shackleton. Crean was a resident of nearby Anascual where he was publican at the South Pole Inn after he retired from expeditions. We have been there for lunch and for pints several times and may stop by again this trip. Here’s a picture of Tom and I at the South Pole.

And there is a walking journey through mediaeval Tralee.

From there we walked into the town center to have lunch at Quinlan’s, a well known fish market and restaurant. Alas, no go. Closed because of water damage. So we had a very nice lunch at Der O’Sullivan’s deli.

Then we visited the beautiful St John’s Church. Elaine was especially enamored with one of the stained glass windows. Can you pick which one? Candles were lit for Paul and for both our mothers and fathers.

Then it was a walk through the city park before heading back to Dingle.

I had a quick nap. Then we both went to Curran’s for the odd pint and met some more interesting locals (like ourselves).

Dinner was at home. Barbequed sausages from Mr. Kennedy’s. One final photo of Irish freedom fighters:

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It was sunny looking in one direction and raining in the other. Should we walk? We did. I hit drizzle for a short bit, but it was mostly dry. So today’s walk theme is “Pubs I Pass”. Now, if I walked in the afternoon and stopped in every pub, I would never make it home. Heh, I wouldn’t make it halfway. And this is not all the pubs in Dingle Town. I can take a different route and pass many more.

Here’s an accounting of what’s in the photo gallery:

Marina Inn – We may have been in here, but, if so, it was years ago

James Long Gastro Pub – We had lunch here last year sitting outside in the sun

Paudie’s Bar – Somewhere on the blog is a picture of me sipping Guinness at an outside table.

John Benny’s – a favorite place of ours’s for lunch

Murphy’s – We used to go here a lot but rarely visit anymore (Sorry, Billy & MIanne)

Paddie Bawn Brosnan’s – Paddie Bawn was an old Irish football legend, long dead. I go here usually once a trip for a pint and I think Elaine joined me once.

Hannie Agnus – a local hangout where I don’t think we have ever been.

Dick Mack’s – Probably the most famous pub in Dingle. It was once and technically still is a leather good and shoe shop as well as a pub. They now brew their own beer. Very popular tourist spot with a walk of fame out front with stars of people who have visited.

Curran’s – one of my favorites. You can watch travel write Rick Steves interview the owner, James Curran, on Facebook here.

Foxy John’s – Rent a bike, buy a hammer or wrench, and have a pint.

Adam’s Bar – Seems to be closed. Elaine and I have been in here.

Lord Baker’s – Alaine and I ate in here with her parents, Doc and Lena) 23 years ago.

Paul Geaney’s Bar – Paul, the owner, is the brother of our friend Tom Geaney who runs the Dingle Pub next door.

The Dingle Pub – My local. You already heard all about it

Ashe’s Bar – We eat dinner here every trip and love it.

Walker’s Bar – I’ve never been in and I’ve never seen it open.

Nelligan’s – Very good local music venue. We’ve been a few times.

An Droichead Beag (The Little Bridge) – It’s been ages since we’ve been in here. Caters to a young crowd with loud rock music.

The Courthouse Pub – We have been in. Very low ceilings. I cannot stand straight up in about 3/4’s of the pub.

The Dingle Distribution Point (Not a pub, but it seemed relevant)

Bob Griffin’s Pub – Fairly small and fairly new. I’ve never been in.

O’Flaherty’s – If you don’t recognize this one, then you haven’t been reading the blog.

Nice sunny day again. Are we in Ireland? We did our walks at 7:30 am. I passed a couple of different pubs on this route: Barr na Sraide and McCarthy’s. Never been to the first. Elaine and I have enjoyed pints in the second. McCarthy’s has an interesting two windows. I also passed the Holy Stone, a Dingle landmark – meet you at the Holy Stone. Nothing especially religiously holy about it. Good that there’s a hydrant nearby. Huh? Also saw a Féile na Bealtaine poster – that’s a festival happening this coming weekend. More on that later on. We have tickets to two events.

After lunch at home in the afternoon we drove over Conor Pass to Glanteenassig Forest Park for a walk in the woods. Wonderful mountain views of Carrignaspaniagh’ (or the Spaniards Rock). (It is said that Cucullane had taken away the wife of a Spaniard, whose husband pursued them to Tigh Cucullane, from which she took a walk with him to the top of this precipice and when there he seized her and flung himself and her into the Lake which is underneath.) Then the Lough Caum Loop is a bog bridge that encircles the lake and is bounded by Stradbally mountain, Beenoskee with Reamore hill also to be seen. The weather wasn’t perfect – it was overcast but dry after the sunny morning. After our walk we drove back to Dingle the other way. Yes, I am wearing glasses (for reading) in one picture. I was reading camera settings, and Elaine said I looked distinguished. Hhmmm? And she says the new blue Irish hat sets off my eyes. Hhmmmm? On the whole walk it was just us, the birds, the ducks, and the sheep. No one else around.

Dinner was at favorite restaurant number four – Out of the Blue. Fish only is served here and no fried food (thus no fish and chips). Great meal with a German pinot noir. Elaine had gambas (shrimp) for a starter and scallops for her main. I had panfried lemon sole (OMG good) for a starter and grilled monkfish for my main. They are described in detail on the photo below of the menu. I had apple tart for dessert while Elaine had rhubarb tart.

We stopped briefly at the Dingle Pub to see Richie and Dreams of Freedom. It was teeming with tourists. Then home to bed.

So we rested. The weather was nice. Lots of sun. We did venture into town for lunch at Flannery’s Fish Box. The fish and chips is hard to beat. It’s right across the street from St Mary’s where Elaine lit a candle and I snapped a camera picture.

We hung out at home most of the day. At 3:30 I went into town for a pint at the Dingle Pub. At 5:00 we had cocktails at home. I sat outside for a bit, but it’s chilly. I did take some good camera pics from the backyard (including a shadow picture) and a panorama video scanning the view we see everyday. You can hear the wind in the video.

This morning’s walk was without camera, so no random pictures.

Today’s history lesson is about the Blasket Islands, just three miles off the Dingle Peninsula coast. For a more complete history, read the above link or this one here. The highest population of the Great Blasket (pictured above – not my photo), the largest island, was about 180. It was tough living out there. They raised sheep and lived off the sea. Only three miles away, the mainland was often unreachable for days at a time because of the rough seas. By the 1950’s the population was down to 30-ish. Only one child and no doctor. In 1953 the government declared that the island was to be evacuated and so it was. Oddly enough, many of the Blasket islanders, both from earlier days and at evacuation time, ended up in, of all places, West Springfield, Massachusetts. There are still close ties between the Dingle Peninsula and West Springfield. The Blaskets are also noted for the literature that emanated from there. More detail here. I have read several of the books.

Yes, we visited the deserted Blaskets on one of our visits to Dingle. Now there are two (or maybe three) structures on the island where you can spend the night in a B&B type environment. No heat. No electricity. No food – bring your own. There is, oddly enough, excellent cell phone reception.

The last boy on the island was Gerald Keane (Gearóid Ó Catháin). He wrote a book called the Loneliest Boy in the World. I’ve read it. And we met him and his wife about ten years ago in the Dingle Pub one quiet afternoon. He is still alive and lives in Cork now. When we met him, he was looking for a place to buy in Dunquin, the closest village to the Blaskets. He never bought anything.

So, anyway, today we visited the Blasket Islands Center outside of Dunquin (Dún Chaoin). We’ve been before, but it has been substantially upgraded and improved since about 2019. We had a pleasant visit, and we saw Hannah again as she was also visiting the Blasket Center. We watched numerous movies about the Blaskets and interviews conducted with many of the final residents. The stories are compelling. Most of them are now dead and buried, save for the Loneliest Boy and a couple of others. In general, islanders are buried on the mainland as there is no consecrated graveyard on the island. There is unconsecrated grave site that was used for unknown bodies that washed up on shore from time to time.

Oh, and we had a very pleasant lunch in the Coffee Shop.

It was raining when we left. We stopped at the store for some stuff, and I filled the car up with gas. (Gas is about $7.00/gallon when you convert the euros/liter price.) Dinner was at home – leftover lamb sausages with potato and carrots. Early to bed.

Not much to report today. Did our walks in the morning. Pictures follow. You’ll see Murphy’s Ice Cream Store for which Dingle is famous. You’ll also see Kool Scoops run by Mr &. Mrs. O’Connor, our ice cream store of choice. Elaine loves the honeycomb flavor. You’ll also see SuperValu (our grocery store), the Chart House (our favorite restaurant), the Coach House (our landlady Grainne’s shop), the town gas station, the town street sweeper (out every day!), and a few other landmarks. Oh, and we separately saw a van with NH license plates. He must have taken the new tunnel from Portsmouth to Dingle. And you’ll see the three flags you saw yesterday blowing full out standing limp today. Fortunately the fierce winds have ceased.

We spent most of the day at home. We journeyed out together in the afternoon for the odd pints at Curran’s Pub. Good conversation with Johnny, the bartender, and a couple of locals. Dinner tonight was at the third of our top three restaurants – Ashe’s Bar and Restaurant. Dinner was grand.

Elaine had mussels to start and scallops for her main. I had Glenbeigh oysters followed by John Dory with shrimp. We shared a chocolate brownie with ice cream for dessert.

The highlight of the meal was meeting Hannah (pictured below), a Seattle nurse and Boston College grad (Go Eagles!) travelling alone. Great craic. She has the website url and probably will be reading this. (Hi, Hannah! We loved meeting you. The canal boat trip is on the old blog – here’s a link to the last post from that trip to the Scottish islands and our boat adventure on the canals of Wales. Scroll down from there to see the canal boat portion. Enjoy!)

No music tonight. Early to bed. Told you there wasn’t much to report. There was a pleasant sunset just finishing as we arrived home. Later!

Amazing. We’ve already been in Dingle for a week. And we got yet another sunny day – not a cloud in the sky all day. Temperatures in the upper 50’s. But the wind was fierce. Still, no rain is a blessing.

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We did our walks and I took my random pictures. Find my selfie in the window.

MAPS

Can you find Dingle on the map of Ireland? The other map is of the Dingle Peninsula and the Blasket Islands.

Later in the morning we decided to visit Dingle Oceanworld. It’s a small aquarium that we last visited probably twenty years ago. It was enjoyable then, so we decided to revisit. They have a nice butterfly area. And we learned everything there is to know about otters. Cute, right? No. Smelly, vicious, and anti-social. And they eat anything . . . . or everything. Still, they are endangered, and Oceanworld has a breeding program. And they are fun to watch. Plus they have the usual fish tanks and a nice penguin exhibit. It was fun to visit. Also, note the photo of the world’s biggest predator.

Oceanworld also has a cinematic Atlantic Ocean experience. It’s a movie, sort of, but amazingly well done. Can you tell these are fake?

Right next door is the Boatyard, a recently refurbished restaurant on the harbor. We had never eaten there. We decided to try it for a light lunch. It was good. Elaine had chowder. I had a fisherman’s sandwich which wasn’t really a sandwich at all, but servings of crab salad, shrimp salad, and smoked salmon served with brown bread and a salad. It was scrumptious.

Then it was home for reading, tv, naps, and eventually dinner. Home barbequed pork chops with potato and veg. Wine, of course. Our house wine in Dingle is Oyster Bay Pinot Noir from New Zealand. Very nice meal.

After dinner it was off to O’Flaherty’s. We had a short chat with Fergus, the owner and lead musician. We had Guinness (me) and Smithwick’s (Elaine) – real Smithwicks’s this time, Kris. And we listened to some fine music by Fergus and his friend accompanied by visiting musicians from Maine and Maryland. Pictures and videos follow: Fergus plays, Fergus sings, and Fergus on Bodhrán Drum. After music it was home to bed.