Moll's Gap

The view from Moll's Gap toward Killarney.


Moll’s Gap is a mountain pass on the Ring of Kerry route through the Iveragh Peninsula, offering fine views to the north of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks (mountains) between the towns of Kenmare and Killarney. Thousands of tourists visit Moll’s Gap every year to enjoy the scenery and nature. The rocks at Moll's Gap are known as Old Red Sandstone.

Moll’s Gap is named for Moll Kissane, an ancestor of John Kissane, who still runs a farm in this area. She ran a small pub (“sibin” in Gaelic) here during the construction of the Killarney-Kenmare road in the 1820s. In her time, Moll Kissane was popular for her illicit home-made poitín (whiskey), which she sold in her sibin.

Poitín is Irish whiskey, and the term is a diminutive of the word pota (pot), since Poitín was traditionally distilled in a small pot. For centuries, Poitín has been produced in pot stills under the bright moon, and thus became to be known as “the shine,” or moonshine. The home-brew was strong, sometimes as much as 160 proof. It had a distinctive dry, grainy flavor with a delicate aftertaste that became sweeter as it developed. Some rural Irish people still pour it on wounds and sores, as they believe it has disinfectant properties. With as high an alcohol volume as 80%, it certainly does.

Poitín is still popular among the student population of Galway. It was not uncommon for communities to leave the distilling of poitín to widows, in order to grant them a source of income.

Muckross Estate - Killarney

The Herbert family had become owners of Muckross Estate in 1770, the result of amassing fabulous wealth from copper mining in the area. A descendant, Colonel Henry Arthur Herbert (married to watercolorist Mary Balfour), commenced building the present 65-room Muckross House in 1839. It was completed in 1843, just two years prior to the Great Irish Famine.

Certainly the most significant social event at Muckross House took place in 1861, when elaborate preparations were carried out for a Royal visit by Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Escort. Tapestries, mirrors, Persian carpets, silverware, musical instruments, linen, china and servants’ uniforms were specially commissioned for the occasion. The curtains, which still hang in the dining room, were specially woven in Paris for the occasion.

The precarious financial situation of the Herbert family in the late 19th century is probably a direct result of the outlay spent on that occasion. In 1897 the Herberts were refused any further loans from the Standard Life Assurance Company. A year later, the Estate was forfeited to that company and the long association of Muckross with the Herbert family ended.

In 1899 Lord Ardilaun, a member of the Guinness family, purchased the estate, but used it rarely; it was let out on an annual basis as a shooting and fishing lodge. In 1910 Muckross was rented to Mr. William Bowers Bourn, a wealthy American. He was owner of the Empire Gold Mine and Spring Valley Water Company of California. A short time after, his only child, Maud, married an Irishman, Mr. Arthur Rose Vincent of County Clare. Her father then purchased the Muckross property as a wedding present to them. From 1911-1932 enormous sums of money were lavished on the house and gardens. At the same time Mr. Bourn built a vast California estate house, Filofi*, near Stanford University, planting the gardens there with clippings from Muckross. After the death of his wife, Mr. Vincent and his parents-in-law, the Bourns, donated the entirety of Muckross Estate to the Irish State in 1932 in honor of his late wife Maud. At the time only the gardens were accessible publicly, until the manor house reopened in 1964.


Killarney National Park was formed from the Muckross Estate lands, and the park was substantially expanded by acquisition of acreage from the former Earl of Kenmare's adjacent estate. Muckross House, overlooking two of the Lakes of Killarney, is located four miles south of Killarney Town, gateway to the Ring of Kerry.

*Filoli, now a property if the National Trust for Historic Preservation (USA), was the house used as the Carrington mansion in filming the TV series, “Dynasty.”

Sneem Village - Ring of Kerry

Sneem, as the mid-point on the Ring of Kerry tourist loop, has become a popular spot for lunch and rest stops. It has two town squares ringed by homes and shops with colorful and picturesque facades.

A collection of ancient-looking structures, which date all the way back to 1989, was designed by Irish sculptor James Scanlon to adorn this village in County Kerry (southwest Ireland). They were executed by local stone workers and sit overlooking the Sneem River near St. Michael's Church. This group is called “The way the fairies went” and includes a stone that was a gift from Egypt. These pyramid shaped structures pay homage to the ancient stone beehive-shaped huts and stone monk’s cells found in this part of Ireland; timber was in short supply in early times, so they were built of stone without mortar, as are these modern day sculptures.

Below is an Irish beehive-shaped stone hut, called a Clochán, dating from the Bronze Age in Ireland (750 BC). Structures such as these were erected up until the early Middle Ages.

Sheep Dog Trials

A sheep-dog trial is a demonstration of how highly skilled and trained dogs respond to whistle commands to bring in sheep from the fields into a holding pen. Border Collies guide the sheep down a hill or across a field, and the bond with their masters becomes evident as the dogs go about their work and pant happily at the conclusion of a successful trial. We’ll spot some rare sheep breeds amidst the flocks in the fields at Kells, overlooking Dingle Bay, where local farmer Brendan Ferris will introduce us to his sheep dogs and demonstrate their skills.