Flying in to Ireland after a short hop from London Gatwick, the weather had already made up its mind for the rest of the week. Grey clouds stretched out over the horizon, and rain pelted the windows as we descended into Dublin. Once landed, the car rental agency provided some unusual comic relief, in the form of some tourists attempting to drive a car that had a mysterious third pedal they’ve never seen before. Hint: its called the clutch, and its used to change gears. The look on the staffs face was one of pure terror when they eventually had to unleash the hapless tourists into Dublin traffic.
From Dublin, it was a direct drive right through Ireland to the west coast to stay in a small town by the name of Spiddal, located just outside of Galway. I had no real expectations of Ireland, so the rather barren landscape was certainly interesting. Almost like the Scottish Highlands, but without the mountains. Place names flashed by in a blur, and to be quite frank, I can’t really remember any of the names of the places that the highway went through.
The next day was to be an adventure around the “Ring of Kerry”. Beginning and ending in Killarney, this route follows a peninsula jutting out from the mainland, with the road flanking the North Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, views on this day were rather minimal, due to the coast being enveloped in what I can only describe as horribly shitty weather. Snow was even spotted nearby on a low mountain (in May. Seriously?). But hey. Time to take photos anyway, right? I used most of the day to try and create sweeping panorama photos, even though I wouldn’t know how successful they would be until I was back in South Africa.
Well… not technically the end. But pretty close.
The location in question today goes by the name of Muntervary, or Sheeps Head. While not the westernmost point of Ireland, it comes pretty close. If you could somehow walk off the peninsula and keep heading west, you’d eventually make landfall somewhere in Eastern Canada.
The route to get here is certainly unique. A single lane road, winding up and down through some incredibly rocky scenery.
The final night in Ireland was spent in a small town a few miles outside of Dublin, by the name of Dun Laoghaire. I was due to watch 3 Inches Of Blood perform that night at a small club called “The Pint”. This show also exposed me to a band who quickly became one of my favourites, by the name of Havok. Some pure thrash metal, and if that’s your vibe, I highly recommend you check them out.
