Odysseus Abroad: Waterville, Kerry (Part 7), Ireland

Dieppe - Waterville - Caherdaniel - Ohm Stones - Ring Forts - flowers - Pottery

Derrynane Bay, Caherdaniel, South Kerry

We spent the first week of a month long visit to Ireland in a rented house between Waterville and Caherdaniel, county Kerry. The getting there was quite an adventure made more interesting driving a classic 1988 Citroen CX which was welcomed with nostalgia as we drive through Belgium and France to Roscoff for the ferry to Cork, Ireland. Avoiding the eternal traffic jam around Antwerp, we opted instead for the slower but less frustrating coastal road south through the delta-works in Netherlands through Belgium on route to Normandy where we stayed overnight at an auberg in Dieppe, France, about half way.

During a stop on the first day the exhaust tail pipe was found handing to the ground and I removed it without hindering our way forward. On the second day, a red check engine light emerged just as we were about to pass a large highway rest stop, so we pulled in to find a leaking hydraulic hose. We would miss the ferry with only hours to spare, but a swiss army knife came to the rescue cutting back 2 cm of compromized hose and halting the leak. There was no special Citroen hydraulic fluid for sale there, so I used brake fluid to top up and we were off, making the ferry in good time after a wonderful seafood dinner at Roscoff town center. In the little town of Adinkerke, Belgium near France we came across many large illuminated tobacco shops gathered there to offer low tax products to the French and UK smokers on route to the ferry. Dieppe was half way which made for a good stopover, but it was also the town to which Oscar Wilde moved upon release from Pentonville prison, England at 6:15am May 19th 1897. That evening he took the overnight ferry from Newhaven to Dieppe. Little remain of his time there, but a few cafe's he frequented; Cafe des Tribunaux, Tout Va Bien and Le Cafe Suisse. Being the closest seaside town to Paris made Dieppe a chic place to visit in the nineteenth century with many well know English and French there, many of whom struggled to avoid the disgraced Wilde. Although he took a new name, Sebastian Melmoth, it wasn't in his style to live in-cognito and soon he was well recognized and his parties the talk of the authorities, so he moved up the coast to Bernaville, where we visited on the way. The hotel since bombed and his house Chalet Bourgeat consumed by the sea, there is nothing left of his time there, but the beauty of the chalk rock coastline. We stayed at Auberge du Vieux Puits on the heights overlooking the ocean and known as much for its excellent restaurant as the location.

Embarking a large car ferry at Roscoff after a great seafood dinner at the harbor, we departed at 11pm for thirteen hour passage, for most of which we slept sound in our cabin. Arriving with view of the colorful terraces houses of Cove, Cork, the ferry slowed down while navigating the narrow channels on route to Ringaskiddy. In persistent rain we drove a few hours to Waterville and a wonderful house we had rented for a week overlooking the bay. The weather improved and we had a great sunny week to explore Catherdaniel and the Iveragh Peninsula, marked with ancient Celtic remains, colorful wild blooms of flowers, clear sand and crystal waters and peaceful calm.

Staigue Stone Fort stands high up the valley from Castlecove, near Sneem, Country Kerry. Dating from the third century it was built very solidly in dry stone which had preserved it over the centuries even with visitors walking around the upper walls. A visit offseason or early morning offers the opportunity to explore Staigue alone, but even with the dozen visitors on the peak summer day of our visit, ones mind could easily drift off to a time long past and imagine life there 1700 years ago. Hills above the valley provide protection on three sides and a well fed stream nearby water access, an ideal location for the chieftain who built the compound. Gone are any signs of the buildings and livestock pens which may have been built of wood and thatch which long decayed or could have been burned down by raiders. The stone craftsmen formed thick walls in a perfect circle 24 meters diameter, the stones big and small carefully interlocking forming a stable lasting structure. Interior terraces form steps to the wall tops from where one could survey the valley all the way to the bay. A small underground chamber exists as a reminder of the security sought out from robbers or raiders from ocean or land. A few fine Irish wolfhounds were likely a support to securing the valley. No Ohm Stone stands today to identify the chieftain and his clan, but nearby in Catherdaniel stands one marked in honor of Llatigni, son of Minerc.

The walls of Kilmalkedar church still stand since the 12th century, the entry door clad with ornate carvings. Christianity likely overtook an earlier pagan site as evident by the Ohm Stone and standing stone on the site. Surely older still was the Cathair Deargain Ring Fort nearby, a set of five round buildings build of thick dry stone walls with fine lentils forming entryways. In one of the buildings a stone conduit used to drain water is visible. Not far away stands Gallarus Oratory,

Loher Stone Fort stood s short walk from our house set on high surrounded by hills on three sides overlooking Waterville Bay. It dates to early Christianity in the region and likely shelter for a local farmer. On the way into Waterville village stands Eightercua Stone Row on a ridge, an imposing presence marking a burial site from 1700 BC. An Ohm stone stands in Catherdaniel a short drive south of where we stayed - one of my favorite places in Ireland. Typically a tall standing stone of up to 2-3 meters with a square or slightly irregular cross section, as offered by nature, and carved with lines and crosses which represent the pre-Christian Gaelic alphabet. There are hundreds of these stones scattered around Ireland and Wales, but the majority are in south west including in Kerry. The seemed to spring up between 1 and 4 the century AD, but may have been preceded by wooden poles which have been lost. From what is known one may suspect the Ogham writing was parallel to ole Gaelic and possibly based on Runic or Latin. Regardless, it is clear it was symbolic nature to the grand stones, mostly carrying the name of the chieftain or clan of the area which it marked, a claim of territory of sorts. Up on the Dingle peninsula visiting the Aglish cemetary I discovered a unique Ogham stone showing two ancient swastikas, which demonstrated that the symbol of peace prevalent throughout Asia had traveled to ancient Ireland and what a shame it was perverted by Hitler and the Nazis. Two standing stones and a great Ogham stone stand on the dunes above the Wine Strand, Dingle Peninsula. "Discovering Kerry" is a well known resource for finding ancient artifacts of the county as well as many resources online.

Ogham Alphabet - attribute to Runeloge (CC BY-SA 4.0)

McGillycuddy in Ogham

In the 1970's we would come to Lamb's Head and camp in tents at the head of the lagoon there not far from Catherdaniel. With the tide out we had the run of the clear sands of the lagoon. Our friends rented some caravans there and I recall one night of heave rain, sleeping in puddles and we upped camp first thing in the morning to go home to dry out, not without Sunday mass, walking in barefoot for lack of dry shoes. At the end of the road west was Ballyvohane harbour, a natural rock inlet protecting small boats from the wild Atlantic and a great place to explore. Across the bay north is the home of Daniel O'Connell, the great liberator, leader of Catholic Ireland lifting them from British repression, gaining emancipation and a seat in Westminster where we sought further reforms, but failed at gaining a parliament in Ireland. The house is open to tour and the gardens abloom in exotic plants and ferns which grow huge under the conditions. It is worth exploring the forests on the hills over the grounds, a diverse ecosystem of temperate rainforest and a picture of what Ireland would look like if humans never arrived and nature left unhindered - in contrast much of Ireland is a green desert and needs space to regenerate the grand old wood forests like that at Glengarriff in Cork. Nearby is one of the most beautiful beaches and harbor of Derrynane and Abbey Island where stands an old graveyard worth exploring.

Kerry became a terminal for transatlantic cables in the 1880's and a cable station setup at Waterville, the iconic solid row houses visible on the north side of town housed the cable operators. Charlie Chaplin, an English actor became very famous in the early days of movies in the US, but eventually after becoming rich, fell foul of the McCarthy era repression and returned to Europe. He loved holidays at Waterville, staying each year during the 1960's. Out in the countryside of Teeranearagh we found the unsignposted house and grounds of Fermoyle Pottery - too many visitors with a signpost, Stephen O'Connell said, people will find you if they are really interested, and we were on recommendation from a lady running an antique shop in town. Stephen and his Australian wife, Alexis Bowman, decided to return to his home ground and setup their own pottery business, leaving behind the stress of day jobs and in hope of bringing up children in country quality of life. With a long history in the arts, he gains a foothold in supplying Michelin star restaurants with unique dishware, going well beyond the "every glaze possible as long as it is blue!", exploring a more nuances set of designs and earthly colors and textures. One of two large electric kilns which was was on cooldown, felt already cool from the outside, showing how well insulated was the vessel still some 850C inside. Kilns are well used, fully stacked to leverage all available space, but they are still the bottleneck in production and he has plans and room to build out and maybe add some renewable power to balance the high demand and cost of electricity. Hard work surely, but an inspiring story made even more so upon touring the gardens and glass houses, which are planted with all sorts of exotic species and a great place to give the children a sense of the value or respecting and working with nature. That afternoon we drove over the hill westward to St Finian's bay, a wonderful pocket of beach and harbor fasting west to the wild Atlantic and view of the Skellig Islands. I kayaked out of the harbor and even in the calm summer day felt the long swell of the ocean lift me and the seaweed. We had family visit a few nights during the week and besides exploring ancient Kerry, really enjoyed a quality week before heading to Sligo for a week, then back to Tralee and Glenflesk making a month long tour of the country.