Heather and Randy started the day with a stroll through Kenmare to a stone circle located in town. The circle was located on private property but maintained by the owner who we met as he arrived to open the gate. It’s common in Ireland that the neolithic circles, forts, medieval castles and abbeys, etc. are located on private property. It’s nice to see that in most cases they are well cared for. Heather found the information on the hawthorn tree interesting. Apparently hawthorn trees are often found near Neolithic sites because fairies live under them. Roads in Ireland have even been diverted around hawthorn trees because it’s bad luck to cut one down. People make a wish and tie something to the tree. This owner wanted to honor that tradition but all the stuff on his trees clogged his hedge trimmers so he now hands out hemp string and biodegradable tags for the wishes.

Today's trip was around the famous Ring of Kerry…known today as the Ring of Rain and Fog. Our weather related Luck of the Irish ran out today, but we donned our rain gear and away we went. Our first stop was the Staigue Stone Fort, believed to have been built early AD, centuries before Christianity was introduced. The fort was built without mortar, just block upon block. Ireland is dotted with similar forts but not much is known about them since their inhabitants didn’t leave any written records.

After Staigue we headed down the road to Derrynane House, the home of Daniel O'Connell, the Irish statesman and pacifist who lived in the late 18th and early 19th century. He was instrumental in getting the Catholic Emancipation laws passed so Catholics could sit in Parliament as well as hold public office. He is considered one of the most important political leaders in Irish history. His estate is by the sea, surrounded by lovely gardens. We spent time walking along the beach and up to the cemetery where his wife is buried. Then we went back to driving the ring which is still beautiful even with the inclement weather. The pictures are just a bit muted.

After lunch we took a little side trip to the Skellig Chocolate factory for some sweets and were treated to a tasting of six or so different chocolates in a variety of interesting flavors like white chocolate with mint and lime. Obviously this was a marketing ploy. It worked. We took bought four different kinds of chocolate to enjoy during the rest of our trip.

Our final touring stop was at another stone fort named Cahergall. It was similar to Staigue but included a smaller structure inside the larger ring. At this stop we encountered a farmer with a lamb. Heather took the lamb thinking she was helping him. “Here hold my lamb” didn’t seem optional. When he asked Cindy to hold the lamb her response was, “For what purpose?” But she ended up with a lamb in her arms too, and the farmer ended up with a couple of Euros in his pocket. Yes, we got “fleeced!”

We stopped for dinner at the Southpole Inn, a pub owned and run at one time by Tom Crean after he had retired from his various Antarctic expeditions. Our home tonight is in the town of Dingle, which is the base for our tour of the Dingle Peninsula tomorrow.