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AROUND THE DINGLE PENINSULA
(Clogher Head to Ballyferriter)
CLOGHER HEAD
Just north of Dun Chaoin is Clogher Head offers wonderful views of the Blaskets, Ceann Sibéal and the Three Sisters. Underneath the headland is the beautiful Clogher Beach, however the beach is unsafe for bathing. Further along the road towards Ballyferriter is the popular Louis Mulcahy Pottery Shop - "Potadóireacht na Caolóige". Another pottery shop along the road is "Faoileán Pottery" where the visitor can paint their own pottery.
BAILE AN FHEIRTÉARAIGH (Ballyferriter)
The village of Ballyferriter is one of the most popular destinations for Irish language summer-school students. Courses are organised for all ages and levels by
Comharchumann Forbartha Chorca Dhuibhne
(the Dingle Peninsula Development Co-operative). The village museum,
Músaem Chorca Dhuibnhe, provides information on the history, archaeology and geology of the area.
The four pubs in the village, Tigh Uí Mhurchú (Murphy's Pub), Tigh an tSaorsaigh (Sayers Pub), Tigh Pheig (Peig's Pub) and Tigh Uí Chatháin (Kane's Pub), have regular traditional music sessions and serve food during the tourist season. Nearby, Bric's Pub, on the road to Gallarus Oratory has a session Friday night.
About 2 miles west of the village is the Dún an Óir complex of holiday cottages adjacent to which is the 18 hole golf links -
Ceann Sibéal Golf Course. The club house has a bar and restaurant with panoramic views of the golf course, The Blasket Islands, Clogher Head, Smerwick Harbour and Mount Brandon. Across the road from the holiday cottages is Ferriter's Cove where the oldest settlement in Kerry was recently excavated and dated to around 4,000 B.C. Also across the road are the ruins of Ferriter's Castle, the home of Piaras Ferriter was born. A poet and a soldier, he was one of the last Irish chiefs to be defeated by the Oliver Cromwell's army. He was hanged in Killarney in 1652.
Overlooking Ferriter's Cove is the Coastguard Tower on Ceann Sibéal, built to protect against invasion and as a famine relief projects to alleviate the poverty and give the communities some money to purchase food. The Coastguard Station on the top of Ceann Sibéal was 40 feet high and 30 feet square. From the Coastguard, the sister towers on the Great Blasket and Ballydavid Head can be seen. It is very dangerous at the top with a sheer cliff of nearly 700 feet. Permission to pass through the fields to visit the Tower may be required from the landowners.
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