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IRELAND - DINGLE - 07-14/06/08

Following on from the last update to Boot and Paws this is a second page featuring the Dingle Peninsula in Ireland; the majority of photographs show the south of the peninsula including Inch Beach and Slea Head.

The Dingle Peninsula has featured in several Hollywood films including Far and Away in 1992 with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman and the three miles of sand at Inch Beach was used as a location in Ryan's Daughter in 1970. In the 18th century the beach was known as a favourite place for wreckers who used lanterns at night to lure ships aground and plunder their cargoes. Just along the coast to the west of Inch is Minard Castle near Lispole, (right photo). Like Inch it was also used as a location for Ryan's Daughter and has a violent past - being partially destroyed in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell's army.
Blennerville Windmill on the shores of Tralee Bay is the largest working windmill in Britain and Ireland with a visitors centre revealing the history of milling in the two hundred year old windmill. The centre with its craft workshops and restaurant is open daily during the summer months and can be reached from Tralee via the Tralee and Dingle Steam railway.
The most westerly point of Dingle is Slea Head, (centre photo) with views towards the Blasket Islands off the coast. The area is rich in history and close to the viewpoint are the remains of Dunbeg Fort from the Iron Age and the Slea Head Famine Cottages, (left photo). The cottages provide a glimpse of life during the Irish Potato Famine during the mid 19th century when an estimated one million people died through starvation and disease with another two million emigrating from Ireland.