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BALLYFERRITER |
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A couple of miles north round the headland from Dunquin, largely
Irish-speaking BALLYFERRITER ( Baile an Fheirtearaigh ) is a lively
little village during the summer, though it can be bleak out of season.
Its beach, the beautiful Wine Strand, is a great spot for swimming in
fine weather. The little lanes running northwards from the village lead
to impressive 500ft hilltop walling at Sybil Head and the Three Sisters
rock (with the Norman ruins of Castle Sybil built within an older
promontory fort); and to Smerwick Harbour and Dún an Óir (the Golden
Fort). In September 1580 at Dún an Óir, a band of Italian, Spanish,
English and Irish supporters of the rebellion in Munster, backed by
papal funds in support of Catholic Ireland against Protestant England,
were defeated by the English. The rebels were massacred - men, women and
children - as a warning to others.
In Ballyferriter itself Corca Dhuibhne Regional Museum (April-Sept daily
10am-5.30pm; other times by appointment; tel 066/915 6100, www.corca-dhuibhne.com
; £1.50/¬1.95), for all its modest means of presentation, has excellent
material on the geology and archaeology of the Dingle Peninsula and is
an ideal place to make sense of the surrounding landscape. In addition
to providing plenty of information on local prehistoric sites it also
has fine examples of cross slabs bearing ogham inscriptions. There's a
good café at the museum too.
Also in the village centre are various accommodation and food options,
all within a stone's throw of each other. Tigh Pheig is a genial place
which serves good bar food, and the only upmarket restaurant here, Tig
an Tobair (open May-Sept, closed Mon; tel 066/915 6404) offers
contemporary Irish cooking. Very pleasant en-suite B&B accommodation is
available at Murphy's Bar (tel 066/915 6224; £40-55/¬50.79-69.84), and
the Dun an Oir Golf Hotel (tel 066/915 6133; £90-110/¬114.28-139.67)
offers comfortable rooms and a swimming pool. Hostel accommodation is
available at An Cat Dubh (The Black Cat), just outside Ballyferriter on
the road to Dunquin (closed Oct-April; tel 066/915 6286), which also has
a grocery shop attached.
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