The Gap of Dunloe
The
Gap of Dunloe lies to the east of Killarney, within the Killarney
National Park. Killarney itself is the most visited tourist attraction in
Ireland and is the main town from where visitors can explore the sights
around the lakes, and walk, cycle or ride through the Gap of Dunloe. This
area has been praised by visitors since the middle of the eighteenth
century; the climate is benign, the heather-clad mountains are dramatic
and there are ruined castles and churches and glorious views of lakes and
islands to be seen.
From Killarney
you can walk along a ridge that overlooks Lough Leane. This is the
largest of the lakes of Killarney and it contains 30 small islands. On
the largest of these islands, Innisfallen, you can see the ruins of a
seventh-century abbey founded by St Finan Lobhar. As you walk on you will
find Dunloe Castle. Built in 1215 and now a hotel, it has a group of
Ogham stones in the grounds. Just before you reach the Gap of Dunloe, you
pass Kate Kearney's Cottage. Now a bar, this was the home of a
nineteenth-century beauty who sold illegally distilled whiskey, 'poteen',
to passers by.
The gap itself
was carved by glaciers and the route through it has extraordinary views
of the three small lakes within it and the boulder-strewn gorge that cuts
between Purple Mountain and the MacGillycuddy Reeks - the highest
mountain range in Ireland.
