Coming into the town of Tralee – the administrative capital of County Kerry – my mind always goes back to the Rose of Tralee festival. Specifically to the early 1980s and heading down to Tralee for the craic, sleeping only when necessary and wherever possible. Funny how those memories can colour your impressions of a…

The Ring of Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way

The thing that hit us most as we wandered into the colourful village of Sneem was the smell of turf fires! A real smell of Kerry for us. The village offered a welcome rest after the snaking road out of Killorglin and getting stuck behind a tractor or two. The other thing about Sneem are…

Sheeps Head Peninsula and Bantry on the Wild Atlantic Way

I can’t believe the weather we were having for a June weekend – hardly a cloud in the sky, only a light breeze and warming up nicely! It was early on a Saturday morning – the roads were quite empty and we stopped at the little village of Ahakista just to take in the views…

A Roadtrip Through 16 Counties of Ireland (Part 3)

A few weeks back we went on a road trip from Cork to Donegal and back – covering 16 counties in all. When we came back we wrote up a number of posts in our weekly newsletter – and these were some of the MOST popular newsletters we have done so far. This is Part…

The Tribes of Ireland – Ireland at the Birth of Your Irish Surname.

Do you have an Irish surname in your family tree? In this Letter from Ireland we look at the Tribes of Ireland in 1150. Join us as we take a tour off the kingdoms at this time and the surnames associated with them.