Stages 111-112: Co. Kerry: Dingle to Killorglin: May 2025:
I was finally able to complete the Dingle Peninsula during this weekend. Running on my own was strange after all the company I had over Easter, although I did have a four-legged friend join me for a few miles on the Friday (see Stage 111). Also, lucky for me I had already run around the whole Inch Peninsula (14.7km) on the previous Saturday. That saved me some time this weekend.
Stage 111 Co. Kerry: Dingle to Anascaul: Friday 2 May 2025: 30.83km or 19.16miles
I saw so many green fields by the sea in today’s glorious sunshine. Maureen, Brian and I are staying in an Airbnb in Anascaul, just around the corner from ‘The South Pole’, Tom Crean’s famous pub. More about him in Stage 112.
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| Tom Crean in his home town of Anascaul |
Today it made sense to run from here back to Dingle, as I sometimes do this the clockwise way for practical reasons. I’m up at 6.30am and out the door by 7.30am, following the main A561 towards Castlemaine. However, I don’t stay on this road for very long and shortly take a right turn along ‘Sli Chorca Dhuibhene’ – the Dingle Way. This is the third and final stage of the Kerry Camino. It was a severe climb on this route heading towards Minard Castle. I was determined to keep running as far as I could, up the hill, but eventually I had to walk as it got steeper and steeper. The OS map shows a peak here called ‘Cnoc na hAcrai’. It’s 286 metres high and I felt I was close to the very top. However, what goes up must come down, so I had the pleasure of a lovely descent down to Cille Mhuire and to Minard Castle.
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| Minard Castle built by the Green Knight |
I tried to get to the castle by following a path through some bushes but eventually it was so overgrown, I had to give up. The tide was in too so I’m not sure if there was another way to get to it from the beach side. Minard Castle was built in the 16th century by the ‘Knight of Kerry’, also known as the ‘Green Knight’. This Knighthood is still active and is the only surviving Irish Hereditary. The current Green or Kerry Knight is called Adrian James Fitzgerald who is a conservative party politician who divides his time between his homes in South Kensington and Cappoquin, Co. Waterford.
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| For a while I could follow the 3rd Stage of the Kerry Camino |
I carried on running and the Kerry Camino signs were helpful in guiding me along some beautiful grassy paths. Not far from the castle, I came to what looked like an old sign for a Well. It’s ‘Tobar Eoin’, dedicated to John the Baptist. It seems that there was a great affinity with this particular saint in this area. For years pilgrims would come here on 29th August (the anniversary of the death of John the Baptist). The tradition was to take a blackberry from the bushes and throw it into the well.
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| John the Baptist Well |
It’s much too early in the year for any blackberries although lots of bluebells are brightening up the countryside as I continue following the trails and country roads, staying as close to the coast as possible. A sheep dog comes running towards me. He jumps up on me but seems harmless enough and is acting quite friendly. It turns out that he becomes my companion for the next few miles. The dog is much fitter than me and he keeps sprinting off ahead, always looking back for me to catch up.
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| My running buddy today |
I was beginning to enjoy the company of my new friend when I spotted cattle on the road in front of me. Also, I knew at this stage I would be roughing it across headlands, so I figured it was not a good idea to have a dog with me. So sadly, it was time to say goodbye to my new running buddy. ‘Go home’ I repeated to him and pushing my arms towards him.
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| Waiting for cattle to pass before tackling the headland |
I think the dog is starting to understand. Now it was my turn to look back and eventually he stopped following me and I headed for the green fields by the sea. Btw I met a farmer here who informed me that I wasn’t interfering in private land and that other hikers had come this way on occasions.
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| Taking the scenic route to Kinard Beach |
I had a tough climb up the hills but I soon found a trail along the cliff top that I could easily run on. It must have been a pre-famine path as it was wide enough for some kind of route, maybe for a donkey and cart. I spotted one or two deserted building up here and it was easy to imagine, in pre-famine times, lots of people trying to eke out a living in this remote area. Today I was running, completely on my own, along the cliffs here with spectacular views across to as far as Valentia Island on the other side of the bay. I met nobody at all along this whole area and stuck to the coast – probably too rigidly at times, as the sea jutted in and out. On the second part of this section, there was no proper path, and I struggled through thick grass and some thistles. Eventually I did arrive at Kinard Beach, which also seems to be called ‘Tra Chathail’. There is a sea stack in the distance called ‘An Siorrach’, which translates as ‘The Foal’. Not sure if it looks anything like a foal – all I see is a tall rock in the sea. Just before I arrived on the beach, I had cut my finger climbing over a barbed wire fence and also picked up a large scratch mark on my leg – so lots of blood patches on my body. Who thinks running is not a tough sport? I needed the rest and to eat an energy bar before I got on the road again. I’m able to get back down onto a coastal road by an ‘Tra Bheag’ which isn’t really small - and isn’t really a beach. Across the bay is a townland called ‘Dun Sion’.
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| Looking towards the sea-stack 'An Siorrach' from Kinard Strand |
I’m privileged to running along this area where the great GAA commentator, Mícheál O’Muircheartaigh was born and reared. Until recently his beautiful radio voice became the summer sound all over Ireland as we listened to GAA matches. In his book, ‘From Dun Sion to Croke Park’, Mícheál talks about how they used to walk to dances in Lispole. He explains how far it was from Dun Sion ‘five miles to the east by road or two by sea if the tides answered’. He was talking about crossing this strand at ‘An Tra Bheag’ which can only be done at low tide and saving 5k or 3 miles!
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| View of Eask Tower from east side of Dingle |
I’m glad that it is high tide at the moment, so I don’t have to try to cross the beach which might have been tricky. Instead, I make my way up to the main road (the long way) and run around the bay. I then get down to Dun Sion on the other side at Baile an tSagairt (the town of the priest). In his book Mícheál mentions this townland and describes the local customs at Christmas time before any electricity came to the area.
‘The local custom was to have a lighted candle at each window
at the front of the house. It made for a wonderful spectacle of light with
Conor Hill and Strickeen in the background and thousands of stars overhead
competing with hundreds of flickering candles in the windows that stretched
from Baile an tSagairt on the left along the foot of the hills to Gabhlan to
the north of Lispole’
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| Coastal path to Dingle |
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| Last few kilometres before reaching Dingle |
I had been running on the Kerry Camino earlier and interestingly
Dingle had a strong connection with Spain. The ‘Treaty of Dingle’
signed in 1529 emphasised this relationship. The Treaty gave Irish people
citizenship rights in Habsburg Spain. The reason being is that Dingle was a major
embarkation port for pilgrims to travel to the shrine of ‘Saint James at
Santiago de Compostela’ in Galicia in NW Spain where apparently lies
the tomb of the apostle James. This is the finish point of the Spanish Camino.
I only followed the Kerry version of the Camino for a short time today. As I explained to a man I met earlier, I'm on my own personal pilgrimage around the Irish coast!
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| On Coastal Path to Dingle |
Officially Dingle is called ‘Daingean Ui Chuis’ (the fortress of the Hussey’s) and in 2005, Eamon O’Cuiv the Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs (and De Valera’s grandson) announced that anglicised place names (such as Dingle) would no longer feature on official signposts. So, from now on, only Irish language names will appear on signs and maps. I remember been confused by this when I was completing Stage 28 in Donegal in 2019. The town of Dungloe was not signposted at all, instead I had to watch out for ‘An Clochan Liath’.
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| Sitting on Fungie - the Dingle Dolphin |
However, the name Dingle is still widely used, as Daingean might confuse tourists. There are quite a lot of visitors to the town, so it makes sense to keep the Dingle name alive. Anyway, I continue running along the grassy coastal path which brings me all the way to the afore mentioned town. It’s still only 12.15pm when I reach the harbour but perfect timing as Maureen and Brian have just arrived too. We’re able to enjoy the lovely weather together and even have our ‘fish and chips’ lunch sitting outside a restaurant in the afternoon sunshine.
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| With Maureen & Brian in Dingle - my support team today |
Stage
112 Co. Kerry: Anascaul to Killorglin: Saturday 3 May 2025: 48.18km or 29.94miles
What a privilege to be staying in Anascaul, the home of the great explorer, Tom Crean. He was an important member of Captain Scott’s 1911-13 ‘Terra Nova Expedition’ when Robert Scott was attempting to reach the South Pole. Scott and two of his comrades died on this expedition. Crean was awarded a Polar Medal and The Albert Medal for his efforts on this expedition. Later in 1916 Tom Crean joined Shakleton’s famous ‘Endurance’ adventure. Although they didn’t reach the South Pole it became an inspiring story as despite being stuck in the snow and ice for months and their boat sinking in the sea, they persevered and reached Elephant Island. From there six men, including Tom Crean made the 1,300 km (800 miles) journey to South Georgia in order to get help. We can only imagine how tough that long 17-day journey must have been, but Crean stayed positive and kept the spirits up. Shackleton described how his right-hand man kept a positive atmosphere on the long boat trip to South Georgia.
‘’He always sang when he was steering and nobody ever discovered what the song was, but somehow it was cheerful’’
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| Famous advertisement outside Tom Crean's Pub in Anascaul |
The six of them made it to South Georgia but soon discovered that they would have to trek 48km across the island’s glaciated surface. Shakleton chose two other men, including Crean to tackle this part of the journey. It took them another 36 hours. They had no sleeping bags or even maps but eventually arrived at the Whaling Station at Stromness. There they organised a boat to pick up the three men on the other side of South Georgia and the twenty-two men still on Elephant Island. It’s an inspirational story about survival.
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| At map of South Georgia in Tom Crean's Pub, Anascaul |
In 1917, Tom Crean married a local girl, Eileen Herlihy from Annascaul and ten years later they opened the pub, ‘The South Pole Inn’ which is still here, almost 100 years later.
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| Stone brought back from South Georgia to Anascaul |
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| Tom Crean's Tombstone at Ballynacourty Cemetry |
And as I said we’re privileged to be just around the corner from ‘The South Pole’. It’s another beautiful morning as I leave the house at 7.30am. I follow the coast road, R561 and keep running for 7km until I reach Inch Beach. Remember I had already done a 14k loop of this peninsula last Saturday (see later Stage 112 Pre-Visit) so I was just able to stop here and admire the glorious view of the strand with the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks behind.
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| Inch Strand |
For a kilometre after leaving Inch I was able to keep to a footpath. After that it was just a matter of running on the main R561 road and being very careful. 10km later I pass through the townland of ‘An Fhadhbach’ and shortly take a right turn, signposted to ‘Laghtacallow’. I’m relieved to be running on a quiet country road and I follow it all the way down to the pier.
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| At last I can leave the busy R561 Road |
There are two trails that help me to stay by the shore - down here where the River Maine flows into Castlemaine Harbour. One is called the ‘Caher Marsh Loop’ and the other is the ‘Keel Uphill Downhill Loop’. I had missed the turn for the first trail (but Maureen, Brian & I completed it on the following day) but today I did run along the Uphill Downhill loop on a lovely ridge by the banks of the River Maine. This helped me cut about 2km off the main road.
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| The Keel Uphill-Downhill Loop |
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| Looping along the banks of the Maine River |
The R561 was very busy when I got back on it again and I had to be careful on this 4k stretch into Castlemaine. I deserved a break at Jack Duggan’s hometown, although it’s debatable if 'the wild colonial boy' ever existed – or whether he was born here in Kerry or actually in Australia’s Castlemaine. After stopping for some water, coffee and scone, I continued running, although it was very difficult as there was lots of traffic on the N70, which is the Ring of Kerry road.
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| Castlemaine's Jack Duggan - the Wild Colonial Boy |
Just before Milltown I'm able to leave the main road and follow the much quieter L12216 that led me all the way to ‘Callanafersy East’. I got a little lost around here as a road (I saw on my OS map) didn’t seem to be where I thought it should be.
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| Delighted not to be running on busy road |
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| Somewhere near Callanafersy |
Luckily, I met a lovely couple, originally from Croatia, who not only pointed me in the right direction, but also gave me a good pint of iced water. Thanks! I needed it before I tackled the last few kilometres into Killorglin.
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| Needed some water from this friendly couple |
This has been my longest run so far in Co. Kerry and as usual, my support team, Maureen and Brian were there to meet me.
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| Brian in front of the Puck Goat in Killorglin |
Stage 112 PRE-VISIT:Inch Beach Peninsula: Saturday 26
April: 14.7km or 9.1miles
I had no intention in running today and the only reason I did so was because my coastal buddy, Helen Byers insisted on doing 'Inch parkrun'. In truth it’s probably one of the main reasons why Helen came to this part of Kerry. However, I was so glad I did come here this morning as it’s such a magical place. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. Maybe we were lucky with the sunny weather – but what a special place to have a parkrun.
When the parkrun started, I struggled to keep up with Helen but was delighted that she had the honour of being first lady finisher, especially as she had already done two long coastal runs on the Thursday and Friday. Afterwards Maureen and Brian joined us in Sam’s Café, and we sat outside eating scones, chatting to a couple who live in Darwin, Australia.
It was then time for Helen to leave and start her long journey back home to Bangor. I was so grateful for her company over the last few days. Maureen, Brian and I decided to stay in this beautiful location a little longer, walking south through the sand dunes which run parallel to the beach.
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| In the sand dunes on Inch Beach |
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| Perfect 'Sand for the feet of the Runner' |
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