Ireland-Day Three...

Ahhh Ireland! As I stood on this promontory looking out to sea, I was breathless with the wonder of this incredible island. The turquoise water sparkled in the sunlight of this perfect day and I marveled at the varying colors in the cliff face. This is the beautiful Slea Head Drive on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry.

As we started on our drive we were thrilled to have sunny skies, however the wind was strong and cold. I personally had four layers on!

All along the way we found amazing examples of stone work, always the grey stone of the area, and picture-worthy!

Don't you love spring?

All of these "hedges" are actually stone walls that are completely over grown with ivy, gorse, ferns and various bushes and grasses. They are every where, separating the farmers fields.

This is Dunbeg Fort, one of the few remaining monuments to the ancient inhabitants of the "City of Fahan" dated from 580 B.C. to the 11th century A.D. Its not really known if these were built for defense, rituals, status or simply as a dwelling, but the subterranean tunnel that was found beneath it during the excavation of the sight suggests defense. The pictures below give you a closer look.

Two of the ancient inhabitants....oh wait, no! That's me and Doug!

This is near the sight where "Far and Away" was filmed. We have a video of the actual sight, but you will have to wait for that to come out on Dougs' iMovie!

Another site nearby. Here you see Nathaniel standing in the doorway of another hut, called "Beehive Huts". This would house a single family and were built without mortar. The stones were placed with a downward and outward tilt to shed water, with an opening at the top covered with a flagstone. This method of building is known as corbelling.

Doug is pointing to a stone that was found at this site, with an inscribed cross.

I couldn't resist taking this picture, with the horseshoe shamrock on the door and the bush growing out of the stones on the side of the house. You can see where the original thatching would have connected to the top, just under the slab to the left. But I guess the metal and plastic have a certain charm, don't you think???

Day three...to be continued.