Last Updated on April 4, 2024
Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, the beautiful backdrop for “Ryan’s Daughter”
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
By Jim Ferri
A light rain started falling as I made my way to Dingle Peninsula in Ireland. The country’s westernmost peninsula, it’s where Ireland thrusts itself out into the wild Atlantic.
Over the years, I have heard many raves about the beauty of Dingle. Finally, however, I was determined to see and judge for myself.
I was on a two-hour journey from the Ring of Kerry near Killarney. The drive, another of Ireland’s circuitous routes across beautiful countryside, was pleasant. My destination was the Fiuise Bed and Breakfast in Dingle town, a small fishing port, and the area’s main town.
“Fiuise” means fuchsia in English, and I couldn’t help but think how odd a name in a country so green. But, despite the color disparity, the Fiuise became the beginning of a fantastic 36 hours on the Dingle Peninsula.
Hotels in Dingle, Ireland
I found the Fiuis on the far side of Dingle Harbor, a few minutes from the center of town. It was the home of Donal and Eileen Carroll, who ,like many of the Irish, had added a section to their home for accommodating guests.
While traveling about Ireland, I always found the Irish B&Bs to be beautiful places to spend an overnight or two. Donal and Eileen’s home was very comfortable and highly rated online, and Donal and Eileen were very accommodating.
There are many accommodations in Dingle town and others scattered about the Dingle Peninsula. Some, like the Fiuise, are B&Bs, while others are small hotels. In fact, you’ll also find them on the second floor of some pubs in Dingle. I wondered, however, how anyone could ever get any sleep with the noise and music from below. But, on the other hand, the music could be a perfect nighttime lullaby for some.
Searching TripAdvisor, Booking.com, and hotels.com will provide plenty of listings. Book well ahead in the summer when rooms go quickly, although there’s plenty of availability in other seasons. September, the month I visited, is a great time to travel about the Dingle Peninsula. The crowds are gone, the weather is excellent, and the food, beer, and spirits are always delicious.
Dingle’s Restaurant and Pub Life
Not long after my arrival, I inquired about a good place in town to have dinner that evening. Donal and Eileen told me of a restaurant they enjoy and three pubs that play traditional Irish music. Donal then insisted on driving me into town to show me where they were.
I decided to dine at Ashes, a pub/restaurant that had an excellent menu, much of it focusing on seafood, a specialty of the region about the Dingle Peninsula.
Furthermore, it was a cozy little place, and on the bar, I quickly spotted a chalkboard touting the evening’s special, “Glenbeigh Oysters and Carraig Dubh hand-crafted porter beer,” for €16. I opted instead for the local scallops, which were exceptionally fresh and tasty, with pork belly.
Across from me were a couch and a table where a couple was dining. On the wall behind was a large photo showing the late movie great Gregory Peck and his wife sitting in that spot chatting with local folks over dinner.
After dinner, I stopped at a nearby O’Sullivan’s Courthouse Pub, where traditional Irish music was being played to a small crowd ranging from their early 30s to their 70s. One of the patrons gave me directions to Foxy John’s pub, a combination of pub and hardware store.
Earlier, Donal had told me about Foxy John’s, one of the few remaining pub-hardware store combos, so prevalent in the ’40s and ’50s left on the Dingle Peninsula, or for that matter, in all of Ireland despite there being. So I walked over to Foxy John’s and nursed a beer to enjoy the ambiance. But I soon had to head back to the Fiuise since I knew I had an early morning on the horizon.
A Spectacular Drive on the Wild Dingle Peninsula
After a good breakfast, I set out early towards Slea Head on a drive around the western end of the peninsula. This was the journey many travelers rave about, the drive along the road that hugs the beautiful and dramatic coastline of the Dingle Peninsula.
A light mist started falling again– “it keeps everything green,” Eileen had said – as I set off to make my way along a coastal road walled by hedgerows. Occasionally, I caught a glimpse of the ocean through a break where cows were let out into the pasture. Not long after, I also met a few grazing alongside the road.
The hedgerows disappeared as I neared Slea Head, the most dramatic part of the Dingle Peninsula.
The road had been slowly climbing, and I was now driving along cliffs plunging into a roiling surf far below. In addition, the morning fog was slowly burning off, softening everything about me. On the inland side of the road, large rectangles of pasture covered the hillside, with stonewalls creating neat little frames for sheep and grazing cattle.
There wasn’t another car or person anywhere in sight, only the occasional sheep. I parked my car and walked along the road for a short while, mesmerized by the beautiful scenes on each side of the road. The early morning sun began poking its way through the clouds here and there, slowly burning the fog off the weathered shoreline.
The Incredible Beauty of the Dingle Peninsula
Surprisingly, I continued along the road without seeing another car or a human.
I saw a clochán, an ancient drystone beehive-shaped hut, one of many around the Dingle Peninsula, thought to have been built in the 12th century. The sign on the road promised it was only a “two-minute walk” to the huts from the small parking area, the same promised for the original “Irish Famine Cottage” I had passed earlier.
I stopped briefly to look at one of the huts and continued my slow drive along the little coastal road. Then, finally, I did see another human, a farmer high up on the hillside, entering a pasture to tend to his sheep.
I was mesmerized by the brilliant greens that contrasted with the shifting colors of the sea, which raced from steel gray to light blue to aquamarine as the sun poked its fingers through the clouds.
I was amazed that although the Dingle Peninsula was so relatively close to the Ring of Kerry near Killarney, it was so very different in its beauty.
Ryan’s Daughter
Donal had told me of the hard wind that blows here in the winter, and as I rounded the head, I got a gusty and blustery forewarning of it. Then, as I approached another bend in the road, I saw a small plaque and pulled over to read it.
It celebrated the making of the epic 1970 movie Ryan’s Daughter, filmed on the peninsula. The beauty of the area, captured on film for a worldwide audience, propelled the Dingle Peninsula and Ireland to international prominence. It was the film that forever changed the fortune of Ireland.
I stood there in amazement, looking at one of the most beautiful spots I’d ever seen in Ireland. Gulls hung motionless in the wind above my head while I looked out on cliffs that plunged onto a snippet of a wave-lashed beach.
Sheep with bright blue markings on their backs were scattered all over the hillside. In the distance stood the Slea Head Café and Arts Shop, painted a bright blue that matched the color of the markings on the sheep, with cottages and homes dotting the hillside beyond.
I stood there for several minutes absorbing the beauty of the Dingle Peninsula that surrounded me, watching the sheep slowly graze in my direction as they became more comfortable with my presence.
I couldn’t linger as long as I would have liked, though. Reluctantly, I returned to my car and got back on the road. After a while, it turned inland and brought me back over the hills to Dingle town.
All along the way, I kept thinking of the beauty of the landscape I had just driven through. And also, I now understood the reason for all those raves about the Dingle Peninsula.
You may also enjoy: 12 of the Best Places to Visit in Ireland / How to See Ireland’s West Coast by Car in 9 Days / 24 Hours on Ireland’s Aran Islands
If You Go:
Tourism Ireland
345 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10154
Tel: (800) 223-6470
http://www.ireland.com
Fiuise Bed & Breakfast
Milltown
Dingle, Co.
Kerry, Ireland
https://www.booking.com/hotel/ie/fiuise.html
Tel: +353 85 198 6094
Ashes Bar
Bar, Restaurant & Accommodation
Main Street
Dingle, Co. Kerry Ireland
[email protected]
Tel: +353 (0) 66 915 0989
O’Sullivans Courthouse Pub
The Mall
Dingle, Ireland
[email protected]
Over the many years I have traveled to the isle of my ancestors, Dingle has always been included. Your description of the Dingle Peninsula was spot on. Since we haven’t been able to visit the last couple years due to Covid, reading your article with the stunning photos brought me right back to the place I love so much. The National Geographic magazine described it several years ago as “the most beautiful place on earth”. It truly is a magical and very special place that stays in your heart forever. Thank you!
Thank you Kathy. And yes, Dingle is a very special place.
Jim
Yes it’s also very special to me as well.
Thank you Sheila. I think it’s special to a lot of people.
Jim
Your drive to Dingle sounds so beautiful that I can imagine it through your descriptions and experiences. Thanks!
Thank you Carla.
Jim