10 Nov Ballyferriter
The largely Irish speaking town of Ballyferriter (Baile an Fheirtearaigh) is a lively little village during the summer , its beach, the beautiful Wine Strand is a great spot for swimming in the fine weather. Well worth a visit on any tours of Ireland.
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 Dun an Oir (the Golden Fort).
In September 1580 at Dun an Oir , 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 , for all its modest means of presentation , has excellent material on the geology and archeology 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 museum , which as part of the Dingle Peninsula Development Co-operative also organizes courses in Irish language and culture.
Check it out on Ireland tours.