Tralee, Ring of Kerry, and Dingle Peninsula

From Limerick, we traveled to the southwest tip of Ireland, the "Kerry" region.  We stayed the night with my friend Brendan in Tralee, and the next day we toured the "Ring of Kerry" (red line).  We stayed for one night, and then went to Dingle, where Father Bernard drove us around the "Dingle Peninsula."

The Ring of Kerry:

Charlie Chaplin used to visit here, so there is a statue of him at one of the stops:

Brendan and me.  I hadn't seen him in over 5 years:

Stopping in Killarney for lunch:

At the end of the Ring of Kerry, the Killarney National Park:

The rocks were covered with ice, but I still climbed into the waterfall:

The next day, Fr. Bernard took us around the Dingle peninsula.  In one of the churches, there is a lovely painting of Pontius Pilate and his wife.  An Irish legend says that Pilate told his wife, "If Jesus has risen, the rooster will jump out of the boiling pot."  Immediately, the rooster jumped out of the pot and cried "Mac na h'Oige slan!" which is Gaelic for "The Son of Man is safe!"  To this day, instead of "cock-a-doodle-do," the Irish still say "Mac na h'Oige slan" when describing the sound of a rooster:

Fr. Bernard showing Chris how to use a map:

Monastic ruins of a 6th Century monastery:

An early 6th Century Irish cross.  This design developed into the Celtic Cross that we know today:

After leaving Dingle, we began our journey across the island to Dublin...