Euro 2025 ~ The Ring of Kerry ...

Euro 2025 started with an overnight flight from Halifax to Dublin, which left on “Friday the 13th” which some folks say is unlucky ~ we will see ..!!!

I arrived in a very wet Dublin at 8.00am local time. The rain was coming down so hard it was bouncing of the pavements, I got soaked, my luggage on and some tings inside got drenched coming off the aircraft.

After Dublin, I had a four hour journey to Kilgarvan in County Kerry. Fortunately after about an hour of driving, the heavy rain changed to alternate sunshine combined with the occasional cloud burst. This clearing in the weather allowed me to see more of Ireland, which almost immediately caused me to recall some memories from my past …

In Scotland at New Year, our house was a hub for “Ner’erday” celebrations, there was always at least one or two parties that filled the house with happy people. As a young wee laddie, I have great memories of those parties and the many songs that were sung. One stand out for me was a family friend named Theresa, who came from Dublin. Her party piece was always to sing my dad’s favourite, the famous Irish song, The Forty Shades of Green. Theresa would sing this with much passion and would always have tears in her eyes at the end. Young Graeme would watch this with questionable interest and conjure images of Ireland with all those shades of green. Well, on that journey from Dublin to Kilgarvan, I can now say for certainty, the song is correct in at least one aspect ~ there are a lot of shades of green, but far more than just forty.

There was an incident that made my journey to Kilgarvan on day one a little bit unlucky, one of the front tires on my rental car blew out. When it happened, it scared the living delights out of me. It happened just outside the small town of Mallow in County Cork and not having a cell phone I was truly in trouble. In brief after an almost three hour delay, which included a 7Km return hike while carrying a heavy backpack, then help from a Bulgarian, a young girl who sold donuts at a service station, an elderly man and his disabled daughter, two east Europeans (one of which was a crazy rocker…) who had a mobile tire service, I got back on the road with a new tire and 220 Euros lighter.

Day two, the Ring of Kerry proved to be much better. The weather was great, all through what turned out to be a 10-hour day of driving, hiking, smiling at nature and listening when I could to that lovely Irish accent, which I have always thoroughly adored.

The Ring of Kerry is located on the Iveragh Peninsula. With its rolling green hills, sparkling lakes, fast flowing rivers and patchwork of fields with grazing cattle and sheep bleating, it was an absolutely perfect start to my planned adventure along the Atlantic Coast of Ireland. In addition to the features already mentioned, there were countless stretches of pristine white sandy beaches that often gave way to jaw-dropping cliffs and mountains beyond.

High on the priority list for my day around the ring, was a stop at The Gap of Dunloe. Located along a single-track mountain pass road, which cuts across Iveragh Peninsula running north–south, separating the MacGillycuddy's Reeks Mountain range. My day ended in Killarney for some Irish Grub, before a final stop at Torc Falls located within the Killarney National Park.

The driving on the many very narrow, windy and steep roads was fun, especially with the manual transmission car, a definite requirement to add to the enjoyment of the day.

Today’s pics in the order they were taken …