The Dingle Peninsula, stretching westwards for 30 miles from the low-lying country near Tralee, is the most northerly of the hilly promontories of County Kerry. It offers some of Ireland’s most beautiful scenery. Some parts of the peninsula – especially the more remote areas – are still Gaelic speaking, so many road signs are written only in Irish.
SLEA HEAD, DINGLE, CO. KERRY
At Slea Head the visitor reaches one
of the cornerstones of the Dingle Peninsula. Off the shore are the
group of seven islands and numerous rocks known as the Blaskets. The
Great Blasket is the largest and the old village settlement was at the
northeast end of the island. The inhabitants were moved to the mainland
in 1953. Many of the islanders were adept at recounting
folk-tales, and Blasket islanders have produced such well-known books as
'Twenty Years A-growing' (M. O'Sullivan) and 'The Islander' (T. Ó
Crohan).
