Killarney, County Kerry
May 19, 2025
We left the town of Bantry and drove north on the N71 to County Kerry. We drove over a nice mountain pass to the town of Kenmare, a drive of about one hour. Kenmare is part of the “Ring of Kerry” and we decided to stop here now so as to have more time for other Ring sights when we tackle the drive in a couple days. We walked around and admired the colorful shopfronts and had coffee before heading up and over another mountain range.
Above is the coast heading out of Bantry.
Below, the mountains on the way to Kenmare.
Getting close to Kenmare, left, and the main street of the town, right.
We stopped for the view at Molls Gap before turning off the main road to drive on a one lane road for several miles. The hillsides were blooming with purple flowers. We thought they might be rhododendrons and learned later today that they are! This area is called Black Valley and connects Molls Gap to the Gap of Dunloe.
Above and below are three photos from around Black Valley.
The next photo below is the Gap of Dunloe from afar.
We drove to a spot called the Head of the Gap of Dunloe. We admired the panoramic view and then drove down through the valley along several lakes. The road was popular with hikers and bikers and the ponytrap which they call a Jaunting Car. We had to pull over and wait several times for the ponytraps to pass us! We found the entire drive to be breathtakingly beautiful, another highlight.
Above, the landscape heading to the top. To the right, we stopped to let
a jaunting car pass on the one-lane road.
This photo shows the road heading down from the top with lots of walkers.
Below are additional photos from the very scenic road.
The light made it hard to
capture the scene at the narrowest
part of the gap road, left.
From the bottom of the Gap of Dunloe, we drove to Killarney, a town of 14,000, and the tourist center for County Kerry. We will spend three nights here. Because the weather is still remarkably nice, we decided a tour boat trip would be a good afternoon activity instead of visiting one of the nearby stately mansions. After lunch in town, we drove about 5 minutes to Ross Castle (below), a 15th century fortress located on the shore of Lake Leane (the largest of the Killarney lakes).
We took a one-hour scenic boat cruise around the lake and enjoyed what might turn out to be our last sunny day in Ireland. This is where we learned that the purple rhododendrons all over the hillsides are something of a pest. They were brought to Ireland from Asia for English gardens, love the cool wet climate, and have spread unchecked. They are pretty, though.
Some views from the lake cruise, including the purple flowers.
After the tour, we returned to the city and checked in to our hotel, and then walked around the town for an hour to see what things are like. We had dinner tonight in a very busy traditional pub. Tomorrow we will head to the Dingle Peninsula for the day.
The main street in Killarney.
Here is a map showing our trip to Killarney.
