The Dingle Peninsula
The last few days I spent on Dingle Peninsula (Corca Dhuibhne). The main city Dingle (An Daingean) is a small town with a run-down but still busy fishing port, maybe the most important port in western Ireland. There are a few cosy pubs in the town, offering very good food.
No surprise, as Dingle is famous for its annual “Dingle Food and Wine Festival“.
North of the town the road to Cloghane leads across the Connor Pass (An Chonair). With its 456m it is the highest mountain pass in Ireland and probably offering the most dramatic way to enter the western part of Dingle Peninsula. The pass gives a beautiful view both to Brandon Bay in the north and the Dingle Bay in the south. On the northern side, the road is very narrow and winding, making it interesting when meeting traffic coming the other way.
On my way back to Dingle, I spotted a prominent rock near the shore. With a bit of research I found a way to a beach nearby, which gave a nice view to take some photos of An Searrach. I decided to return at night to make some nocturnes. Although quite windy, it was a mystic atmosphere.
Leaving the town of Dingle, I headed for Dunquin (Dún Chaoin), the most-western town in Ireland. Off shore of Dunquin are the Blasket Islands (Na Blascaodaí). The island were beeing inhabited for centuries. Today renowned for the auto-biographies written (or told) by some of their inhabitants beginning of the 20th century like “The Islandsman” by Thomas O’Crohan or “Twenty Years A-Growing” by Maurice O’Sullivan.
In 1953 the last Island (Great Blasket, An Bhlascaod Mhór) was evacuated.
Dunquin was the location of taking parts of the film “Ryans daughter” in 1970. For this film, an old schoolhouse was build near the town. The building is now abandoned and slowly falling to peaces. Tonight I went there and did some photos, illuminated only with a flash and a torch.
