Kerry - (Part 4)

Dunbeg, Loher & Staig Forts - Oghm Stones - Slieve Mish - Crag Cave

How to ride out a recession the Irish way!

Back in Kerry again for a week in June 2013 with the extended family and a nine passenger van, gladly ignoring my birthday, until I arrived late night in at Miriam's house to meet up with them, they being  in full party mode with birthday cake laid out, so I had some catching up to do.  There is always something new to explore in Kerry, or old ground to revisit, but I will try not to repeat too much from past trips.  The obligatory hikes to the summit of Mt Brandon, which started the week and the McGillycuddy Reeks, which ended the week, would both on the cards.  In between would be an exploration of Slieve Mish mountains and Crag Cave, as well as a visit to various pre-historic monuments for which the county is well known.

The news papers and radio were busy with reports of the tape recordings of David Drumm, former head of Anglo Irish Bank, the most irresponsible of lenders which pumped up the economy on property and led up to the banking crisis.  If there was ever any doubt as to the extent of shyster behaviour of Drumm, the tapes speak display clearly his irreverent and casual attitude to the collapse of his bank; however, if one ignores the style of his communication and focuses on the content, it is evident that he was ultimately proposing a better deal for the Irish people, as he proposed the bondholder take the losses 50:50 with the government (tax payer); the bondholder are indeed the ones who should have taken the consequences of their failed private investments, not the Irish people.  The government's calculation was that the cost of bailout would be less than the cost of private default and deep recession; however, they ended up with both a deep recession and the cost of bailout around a full year's domestic product as Drumm tells the nation how he really felt in recordings during the collapse; "Get into the f***ing simple speak: 'We need the moolah, you have it, so you're going to give it to us and when would that be? We'll start there'," Mr Drumm instructed one of his staff on how to approach the Government regulator responsible for propping up the banks.  Earlier Drumm proposed to have the bondholder take the hit; "We'll buy back bonds. . . the target level will be 50pc and we'd release 80 basis points of f**king capital and, em, or 70 or 80, and I said, then the rest is a fully underwritten rights issue – underwritten by you (the Department of Finance)."

Shock was being expressed all around, including from German premier, Angela Merkel, however, one could argue that, rather than being shocked, bondholders and regulators should toughen up and expect to deal with people like David Drumm for a healthier future.  Furthermore, when a shyster bank is allowed to prosper with support of bondholders seeking a higher return and under weak regulators, it soils the whole banking system, as the more reputable banks are forced to play more risky games to keep market share.

In another recording Drumm laughs as his staff sing the German National Anthem in reference to the German money being pumped into the Irish Government bailout; The Frankfurt Zeitung newspaper expressed outrage and proposed to "....... these people, take a stick and beat until the wailing is unbearable".  Actually, what I find most impressive is the calm and "move on" attitude with which the Irish people are taking the fallout of the reckless property boom and bust.  German war reparations following the first world war were a pittance compared with the private sector debt which the Irish people have taken over per capita, and one does not see social unrest or blaming of immigrants  as an escape from the burden.  German premier Angela Merkel expressed shock at the recordings, but no-one expressed shock with the insult to capitalism of a bondholder guarantee.

On the Saturday morning I was up early and out to Brandon for a hike, my mind gladly freeing up from the concerns of the world for the week ahead.  The weather was decent, but the peak was under cloud cover as usual and the wind from the west was whipping by strongly once the last ridge was crested.

Brandon Bay - tide out

Grotto on way to Mount Brandon from east side

View over Cloghane & Brandon Bay

Atlantic clouds puff up over the Kerry hills

Cloudy Brandon Peak

Glacial lake under the lee of Brandon

Kerry is a county of rocks, especially on the poorer lands of the western peninsulas and the rocks have been put to good use since habitation began following the past ice age.  We visited Dunbeg Fort on Sleia Head, Dingle Peninsula Sunday afternoon, which is a good example of a stone fort from the iron age.  It's date or origin are uncertain, but it is bracketed within the Iron Age by the dating of wood from the site foundations; a piece from 500BC may mark the original settlement, with various later stages of developments and abandonment as the peoples of Kerry changed. Following the Ice Age, Ireland became repopulated (as it was likely populated prior to the late ice age, similar to England, although no evidence has been found due to the action of the ice sheets) with Mesolithic hunters.  One imagines a peaceful land of plenty; wood, fire and hunting with little little competition from large predators.  As the island emerged into the Neolithic period, new influences from outside would have continued to be adopted, including the age of copper and bronze.  The Celts dominated Europe and terrorized declining Roman power, but also slowly expanded into Ireland in the early centuries BC, bring new ways, technology and advancements. One wonders whether a fort like Dunbeg was originally built to fend off the new comers; why would they have lived up on a remote, desolate cliff side, away from the more productive river valleys and beaches which would have provided for the first inhabitants.  Ptolomy referred to the people of this region as the Vellabori in the 1st century AD; his term, probably too greco-roman for the locals who would have spoken a pre-Celtic language.  The Corca Dhuibhne are the people of the peninsula from the middle ages and is still the term used today.  Unfortunately much of Irish history pre-5th century AD is only recorded as myth or a few markings of the Ogham writing on stone.

Built on a cliff outcrop along the south coast of the headland, it was situated to gain protection from inaccessible cliff face as well as by high walls on the land side, which stretched from one cliff face to the other.  There are also multiple rows of ditches outside the wall for further protection.  To the right of the main entrance doorway is a small opening which accesses a small chamber inside the thick walls; I speculate this may have been for the guard dogs, similar to that found at Staig Fort. Some of the cliff face would have fallen into the ocean since the original fort was built.  A solid square stone building stands inside the encampment; although smaller buildings were usually roofed in stone, likely the lager ones like this were thatched.  There is little evidence of the way they lived and one source is usually their refuse, but one suspects that the threw their refuse over the cliff into the raging Atlantic to be seen no more.  Below the cliff the sea was calm on the visit, but the dramatic formations of the rock-meets-Atlantic were clearly evident.  They had installed underground water drains; i.e. below the stone paving a channel ran to move rain waters along rather than flood the housing area.  Also there is evidence of subterranean chambers which may have been safe houses in case the compound was ransacked.  A large vertical stone was embedded in the walls on both sides of the entrance doorway; one suspects a strong point for holding a barred wooden door, as it is evident on most of the forts in the region.

On the hill of Fahan behind Dunbeg stood an old farmhouse which has been setup to look like it was during the famine years of the 1840's.  I think the term Famine-House is used to draw the tourists, and the house would actually have been luxurious and grand for a famine era dwelling; as the population expanded in the early 19th century, the inherited land holdings were continually sub-divided leaving families subsist on small plots and the houses they built reflected their poverty.  The thatched roofs were impressive and there was a beehive hut located just off to the back of the house.  The round stone huts are not easily dated, but most likely during the iron age or up to the 1st millennium AD, after which square buildings would have been more prevalent.  We continued west along the narrow cliff side Slea Head road and stopped for a cold swim in the turbulent waters of Coomeenoole beach as the wet suited surfers made the most of the rolling waves.

View from inner house - Dunbeg

Main entrance - Dunbeg

Main house - Dunbeg

Looking our from Dunbeg

Small chamber near front door probably for hounds

Entrance Door

Inner house - Dunbeg

Traitorous rocks below

Paving stones over a drain conduit

Vertical stone at entry to Fahan fort

View from Fahan fort

Rehighlighted; markings of cross from early Christianity

Beehive hut at Fahan fort

Main house at Fahan fort

Fahan famine farmhouse

Thatched roofs of traditional Irish houses

Clochan - Beehive Hut, embedded in homested

Steel pots for potatoes and stew over a peat fire

Coomenoole Beach

On Monday we took a drive south over the short mountain to Kilorglin and the Ring of Kerry through Glenbeigh and Waterville to Cathardanial.  A car had tumbled off the road and took a roll over the soft peat bog lands, but there were no injuries.  We stopped to view the shell of Wynn's Castle; described from Irelandview: "Near the village is the ruin of "Wynne's Folly", a castle mansion built by Lord Headley Wynne in 1867. The terrible tragedies which befell the population of the Wynn Estate in the parish of Glenbeigh, in the 1880's is still talked about in the Glenbeigh area. The barbarity and brutality of Mr Roe, the agent for Lord Wynne, during the evictions were said to be far in excess of the worst actions of his master. Even Gladstones Land Act of 1881 which in effect said that tenants should no longer be removed at will, did little for the residents of the Wynn Estate, as during the years of 1882 and 1883 there were numerous evictions because the tenants were just not able to afford the increased rent, by a massive 50% in most cases, to pay for the construction of the castle. Not very long after this the affairs of Wynn drifted into insolvency and he made his exit from the Glenbeigh scene.  While World War I was in progress the Castle and grounds were let to the British Military Command and used as a training centre for reservists. In 1921 Republican forces burned the castle to the ground and it was never rebuilt."  I recall the stories of my grandfather from Kilorglin of the corrupt landlord's agent, Saunders, who had been charging his father (my great grandfather) twice the land rents before the land commission stepped in to correct the situation.

At Waterville we picnicked at the waterfront near the statue of Charlie Chaplin, the giant icon of the silent film era, with films like The Tramp.  Chaplin fell victim to McCarthy's political purge in 1952 and relocated to Switzerland.  He first visited Waterville in 1959 and, probably taken by the peaceful atmosphere, returned annually for ten years.  Ironically, his nemisis McCarthy was 3/4 Irish of Tipperary.  Nearby at Valencia was the location from which the first transatlantic cables were pulled in 1866.  In 1884 a telecommunications station was setup in Waterville for operators of the transatlantic signals; their company provided lodging houses are still visible as you enter Waterville today, they row houses by the beachfront.

The most famous son of Waterville, Mick O'Dwyer also has a statue to his tribute there.  I was never a big football of sports fan, but one could not be impressed with his record, especially as his span of career was over the years of my schooling in Kerry.  He became manager of the Kerry Gaelic football team in 1975 and over a twelve year period, he took the team to the All Ireland finals ten times, winning eight of them.  I recall year after year, the Kerry team returning and parading the Sam McGuire cup through the town and schools.  Actually, during the 18 years I lived in Kerry the county won the All Ireland 10 times, so even as a non-sports fan I was accustomed to a powerful series of Kerry victories.  Over the history of the cup with 120, or so matches, Kerry brought home 36 wins since it started in 1887, which is statistically off-the-charts when compared with next runner's up; Dublin at 26 wins represents a third of the population of Ireland, the 9 wins by Galway, 7 by Cork and Meath and down the line.  If you remove Dublin from comparison, as they have 1/3rd of the population, and compare Kerry's record to other counties of it's size (i.e. all the rest), it would take two centuries for them to surpass Kerry's record, even if Kerry never played another game.

Shortly past Waterville we stopped in at Loher Ring Fort, the homestead of an iron age chieftain of the region.  There is little direct archaeological record to date and describe the life at these forts; unlike Pompei, which was frozen in time, the hard stone shell of these forts have survived the centuries, but little else.  It was likely a reinforced farmstead during the iron age and was expanded over the centuries into the Christian period with new buildings.  The circle form itself reflects the architectural freedom of ancient times, it was later that land pressure pushed lands and fortifications into a more angular form.  The ring also allows consistent and solid wall strength throughout and is the shape of earliest houses, beehive huts as well as fortification walls.  Later came square forms, which can been seen also in one of the houses at Loher.  A single door enters the ringed compound and the walls incorporate terraced steps to allow quick access the high view from the top over the lands and the round bay over to Ballinskellig.  An underground compartment was included in the foundations of the compound, possibly for a secret secure compartment, or for cold storage in summer time.  On the return to the main road we viewed what were probably real famine houses; small stone houses built quickly and densely to house a burgeoning rural population, three times that of the country today.

We crested the hill at Coomakista Pass and descended into my favorite part of the Iveragh peninsula, Catherdaniel.  We passed the house of the liberator, Daniel O Connel (worth a visit) on the way to Derrnane Pier.  An ogham stone stood erect along the way with some weathered marking of the ancient language made of lines at different angles across the vertical axis of a corner of the tall stone.  The tide was low and we walked out to Abbey Island to explore the sea life of the rocks and tidal pools.  Daniel O Connell's grave rests inside the ruins of the old Abbey.  There is a small ring fort visible on a mound in Catherdaniel, but we drove on around to the south side of the peninsula to visit Staig Fort, the most of ring forts in Kerry.

Only the outer walls are left at Staigue Fort, the large interior space of 90ft in diameter is now bare of the houses and farm structures of the iron age.  Likely cleared by later farmers so the outer walls could be used as an animal pen.  Two chambers exist in the walls, one near the main entrance and one on the oposite side of the inner ring wall.  The one near the main entrance was apparently to house the guard hounds.  These walls were probably more those of a Chieftain's farmstead than serious fortifications from invaders, however, they reflect a certain need for security during the early days and coastal Kerry has been a point of arrival of wandering seafarers, from the Phoenicans to the Nordics, for millennia, so local Chieftains would have benefitted from a demonstration of imposing walls.

Someone took a tumble through the soft bog fields along the Maine River

Wynn's castle Glenbeigh, which was burned down in 1920 by the IRA

Charlie Chaplin, exiled by McCarthyism, took rest in Kerry

Loher Ring Fort

Entry door of Loher

Terraced walls

A later square house

The earlier circular house

A real famine house

Ogham Stone at Cathardanial

A "U" and "M" written on ancient Ogham language

The Abbey of Abbey Island, Catherdaniel

Staig Fort, Iveragh Penninsula

Terraced walls of Staig Fort

Kerry consists of fold mountains developed from the fabric of an old tropical ocean which was filled with the runoff of the erosion processes of the planet half a billion years ago.  The land emerged from the ocean as the super continent of Pangaea emerged and the area became desert, which has left an important imprint in the old sandstone visible in the mountains today.   Tuesday was a day to explore these folds on the Slieve Mish mountains which run west from Tralee along the inner Dingle Peninsula.  Although the weather was mixed with low cloud, I hiked up from Curraheen Water Works to the steep ascent of pathless heather which even challenge the sheep to the first ridge and stone mound overlooking Tralee Bay, Fenit and North Kerry.  A hammer and sickle sign painted on the wall of the old water works, which attracts the curious, reflected the changing demographic of the ancient county with the arrival of East Europeans looking for opportunity as the Irish economy boomed over the last decade, similar to the way Irish have emigrated for opportunity all over the globe over the centuries.  As we brought the shamrock to New York, new symbols now arrive in Kerry, but that was always the way; look at the swastika or Maltese cross carved stones from the first millennium BC for evidence of the continued movement of influences.  The Polish are the predominant immigrants from the East in Kerry, so it is ironic that the hammer and sickle shows up on the water works, as Poland has banned the symbol due to it's disapproval of Russian hegemony under which Poland suffered over the centuries.  Sometimes people grasp for symbols of power when they are frustrated with their new society, but for the most part, the Poles are welcomed, but the economic downturn must surely take it's toll on relations.  Many Poles have returned after the downturn, and some Irish have gone with them for opportunity, as Poland, like Turkey should have a bright generative number of decades of growth ahead.

The bog cotton was blooming white tufts floating on wreaths above the turf as I tramped over lands chartered only by sheep, crossing the pathway of the Dingle Way before turning up for a steep ascent through the heather.  Clouds and rains poured out of the Curraheen valley, which was now below me as I crested the first ridge at around 400M, on which was a stone pile marker.  The steepest part was over, but the new challenge ahead was the low visibility cloud which swirled over the heights above from the south of the mountains and, which either coalesced into rain on the leeward side or opened to bight sunshine.  In between these moods of weather I caught a glimpse of the peak at the east side of Barr Tri gCom, but as I made my way toward it the clouds descended thick and wet around me.  Navigating the gentle climb of the ridge by the sense of steepness on either side I made my way to the rock outcrop which uniquely marks the rounded turf clad highlands of the route to Barr Tri gCom; it came and went from sight a few times with the clouds, but then I caught up with it and on seeing it close up, recognised it as a massive conglomerate rock from the time Kerry was a desert in the Devonian era around 400 million years ago.  Water and rivers ground rocks down to rounded pebbles which settled in the sands on a massive scale in Kerry.  On land at the time was a desert environment whose shifting sands further sorted the river rounded rocks among layers of fine silica, later forming the extensive conglomerates of the county.  Visibility closed in as I hiked up the ridge to the east peak of Barr Tri cGom; Gaelic for "Top of three hollows" and overlooking the valleys of Curraheen, Derryquay and Derrymore.  If I had a compass I would have gone on a little further to the highest peak 100ft above, but I decided not to test my luck along the narrow ridge between the Curraheen and Derrymore glacial valleys.

I had the freedom to roam my way back down the hills with no path to follow but the way my imagination directed me on the moment, which is also a reflection of the gentle contours of these ancient sandstone fold mountains which have been beaten by the hot winds of desert, the cold of ice glaciers and yearly freeze thaw (being at altitude) and water cycles.  I found the family at the Aquadome and we went in search of a holy well north of Tralee.  Venturing through the farm fields towards a dense clump of trees under which we suspected the well to be, we were confronted by a field of steers and Liam got a shock from the electric fence, so we ventured no further.  On the way back we visited a set of Ogham Stones for which the county is famous.  Before Christianity and the introduction of the Roman alphabet in the 6th century, the Ogham script was used to write the Irish language.  From what remains visible today, the language is usually written as a series of lines across the vertical axis of the corner of a tall upright stone, often denoting some one's name. There is a reported connection between the letters and trees, but often the space information about the language allows interpreters to develop a dreamy mystical view on the language and culture of the time.  There is much speculation on the origin of the script, including the theory that it was developed as code not to be understood by the Romans.  The earliest scripts from the rich cultures of the middle east were also simplistic, repetitive sets of lines and angles, so it may have just developed as code to reflect the elements of phonetic speech.

Ogham script

Kerry Waterworks, established 1879, now a derelict curiosity

The hammer & sickle comes to Kerry

Bog cotton

The 1st rock marker on the hike to Barr Tri gCom

Misty view over to Glanbrack and Gormagh

Rare view of the east peak of Barr Tri gCom (visible from Tralee)

View across the bay to North Kerry Head

A giant conglomerate, formed between the sand dunes of ancient Pangaea

A lone tree on my walks of Slieve Mish

Modern art in the country, or some rubble

View back up the misty Slieve Mish from Tralee

Ogham Stone near Ballinorig, Tralee

Rainbow over the sun wet skies of Tralee Bay overlooking Slieve Mish

Weather cleared the following days; view of Barr Tri gCom from Tralee

View of Barr Tri gCom and Cathar Conree from Fenit

Mid week I approached the Slieve Mish from the west side, parking my car at Beheenagh and hiking up to Caherconree peak, the sister peak of Barr Tri gCom and close in height at 835 Meters (2740 ft).  A long swath of the valley floor and on to hills to the west is Silurian era sandstone, the oldest geological record of Kerry going back an eight of the time since the formation of the planet when it was tropical seabed. It is also a valley washed in myth of Cu Roi Mac Daire, legendary king of Munster, after which the peak is named.  Invisible to me as I tramped across the sodden marshy lowland bogs, inevitably getting wet feet, was the stone ring fort on a ridge at about 2000ft, also attributed to Cu Roi and well shrouded by clouds.  The trail was marked by polls across the bog meadow through a gently curving ascent until I found myself on a steep uphill climb into the transition layer of clouds at around 1500ft.  A high rocky outcrop of conglomerate rock marked the first ridge to access the fort and peak.  Conglomerate rocks of the Devonian era were strewn throughout the steepening trail, some were good enough to keep, so I set one aside atop one of the marking polls to collect on the way down.  At cloud height I met a backpack hiker descending from an overnight stay on windy Barr Tri gCom; a local man in his 50's, retracing earlier tracks out to west Dingle, he said the tent was barely up to the windy conditions of the peak and he probably got fleeting sleep, as I recall myself on a windy night in New Mexico March 2009.

I was glad of the polls to guide the trail with the low visibility in the clouds and they led me to Cu Roi's fort, or what is left of it; a thick outer wall to protect assess to the promontory bluff of steep rock, which was also not visible through the clouds.  One wonders whether the elevated fort was build during times of better weather (reportedly mid 1st millennium AD), as today a King would rarely need fortifications to protect the clouded-in site.  The sheep stared on as I left the fort and wandered on without the help of guideposts up the ridge, less steep than the earlier ascent, toward the summit of Caherconree.  With little to guide me and no compass, I kept closer to the steeper drop-off from the ridge to the left and kept climbing.  The top is less of a peak than a plateau and on reaching it I wandered across the fogged in flats a while before finding the mound of rocks marking the summit.  Getting turned around on the return and with little visibility I decided to return to the summit and ensure I retraced each step to get on the right ridge down to the welcoming sheep who stared on as I passed the fort.  I was soon under the cloud level and back in visibility, collecting rocks here and there, including the large conglomerate I had left behind on the way up.  Fully exposed in places was a contour of the layers of peat and supporting sand and sandstone.  The bare sandstone and gravel exposed by the retreating ice supported a growth of vegetation and eventually trees which generated the humus and peat layers.  Growing at up to 1 meter per millennium, peat bogs were a healthy 10 meters (30ft) deep in places, but less so the slower growth of the mountains of Kerry.  A layer of only 1ft deep, was on view which surely reflects the thinning of the bog by cutting for fuel over the millennia.  Today the sheep diligently keep the mighty mountains in check, ensuring no trees return by gnawing any green growth down to the last quarter inch; no longer does the peat and humus grow, but it slowly weathers away.  

A swath of the Silurian era exposed

Looking at the end of the ice age and 10,000 yr old peat

Cu Roi Mac Daire's legended fort on Caherconree

Peak of Caherconree

Sheep; the mighty mountain tamers

The 1st rocky outcrop of the trail

A Devonian river bed

Of course a hike of Carrantoul peak would be done during a week in Kerry and I waited for the last full day, as the weather was predicted to improve and I mainly hoped for clear visibility.  Cresting the short mountain I could not even see the McGillycuddy Reeks in the mists and worried about the visibility, but as I got closer I could actually see the peak under overcast clouds.  However, as I left the car at Lough Acoose I could see the clouds beating in from the south making me wonder if I had the right gear.  The Reeks are not much taller than other mountains I regularly hike in the region, but they seems to attract rough weather more.  Traversing of the peaks to the pinnacle is always magical, even under the impenetrable cloud which kept visibility to a minimum above 2000ft.  There was no-one on the trail until I reached the peak and met four local school children skipping down from the peak, looking like they just walked off the playground.  I met a few more in real hiking gear on my way down, to whom I gave encouragement to keep going in the clouds, as it was about to clear, as I would see before I reached the low lands again and was back to Lough Acoose in four hours round trip.

The Reeks

Carrantoul Peak

Memorial plaque on the peak

A brief clearing of the clouds

A find Kerry conglomerate

The misty heights with silver lining as day clears

The afternoon we visited the famed Crag Cave with all of the boys (Chris, Aren, Kai, Liam, Conor).  Having just been discovered the last years I lived in Kerry in the 1980's and opened to the public in 1989, I had never visited the cave.  Cavers in the 1980's know of cave networks in the area and while testing the water from a sump in one of them and comparing it to the stream, noted a difference which made them postulate that the sump was floating on the water table and there may be dry space on the other side.  A diver explored in 1983 and found the large spacious cavern after a short, but deep passage of the sump.  The caves formed by wet erosion of the large limestone plates of the area, which were laid down from the bones and shells when the area was a shallow seabed during the lower carboniferous era. As the lands rose, water with carbon dioxide formed a weak acid which slowly found passages through the corrodible limestone, ultimately forming an underground stream.  During the ice age, the stream was likely dry, but since then the action of water has been relentless and the signs of the river height are clearly visible on the walls of the cave.  Slow leakage of carbonized water through the rock allows the formation of stalactites which grown down from the roof; as the CO2 and mineral rich water enters the cave, the CO2 is released upon which the water releases it's minerals for deposit on the growths.  I wondered about how the oxygen we breath on the tour got into the seemingly sealed cave, but the guide only had certain answers prepared and that wasn't on the list.

Stalactite

Stalagmite column

Hollow tubes grow delicately from the ceiling, but eventually break from their own weight

The underground water tunnel through which divers found the cave

Kerry can look bland, especially on the highlands, but if you look closely enough rich and interesting flora emerge from every nook and cranny.  With many micro-climates, one often finds a spread of flowers or plants which thrive only under certain local conditions of shade, slope, soil and moisture.  The county flower could be Fuchsia, as it is so prevalent and taken to heart locally, even though it was imported from South America just centuries ago.  The highland rocks under harsh exposure, are brightened by the colorful colonies of lichen which slowly, but steadily expand upon their surface.

Fuchsia, an import from Chile now dominates west Kerry

Slugs in full force in upper wet hillside greenery of June 

Flowers cling to high mountain rock lands

Foxes gloves - local and prevalent in Kerry rummer

Flowers cling to ring fort rocks

Bog cotton blooming across the peat lands

A soft moist moss protected in a hollow

A sprig of color in the bland peat lands

A beetle searched the mountains for nutrition

Inaccessible to the sheep, these precious flowers survive ungrazen

Multicolor slug

Complex colored lichen

Yellow Lichen

White lichen

A shrimp in low tidal pool, Fenit

Colorful seaweed in tidal pools of Fenit

A jelly fish waits for high tide and freedom

As I prepared to depart Kerry I listened to the debates over a proposal by one of the Healy Rae political dynasty to provide rural people with special permits to be able to drive home from the pub after a few pints, as the drink-driving laws were ruining country life.  The proposal generated quite a stir of debate within Ireland, but was also picked up internationally, especially by the German press; the subject was taken up on a television piece there as more of an entertainment piece.

Healy Rae referred to the high level of suicide in rural areas and a need to address rural isolation, a result of modern ways of life which depend on the car.  Supporters said they meant to allow people to drink 2 to 3 pints; another added in; "...maybe 3 to 4 pints and that's it"!  Current laws would have many people at the border of the limit after 1 pint.  The proposal was aimed at small local roads where there is little traffic.  One of the reporters challenged the assumption that rural roads were safe, referring to a serious recent accident in the country; Healy Rae, responded that the driver in that case was speeding after 7 pints, a few whiskey's and a line of cocaine - not comparable with the good people of Kerry, who just want to putter home a few miles after a few hours at the pub!  As with many Healy Rae proposals, it is unlikely to be taken up seriously, but in bring forth his proposal, he does bring light on an important and difficult rural problem.

Looking west over the waters off Netherlands

Landing at Schipohol

Copyright 2013 Patrick McGillycuddy www.mcgillycuddy.net