Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ish troops (sent by the pope to aid a rebellion against the Protestant English) surrendered
at this bay to the English. All 600 were massacred by the English forces, which included
Sir Walter Raleigh.
41.7 km:
At the crest of the hill, enjoy a three-mile-long coast back into Dingle town
(sighting, as old-time mariners did, on the Eask Tower).
46.3 km:
Tog Bog E
means “take it easy.” At the T-junction, turn left. Then turn right
at the roundabout.
47.5 km:
You're back in Dingle town. Well done.
This rugged group of six islands (Na Blascaodai) off the tip of Dingle Peninsula seems
particularly close to the soul of Ireland. The population of Great Blasket Island (An Blas-
caod Mór), once home to as many as 160 people, dwindled until the government moved
the last handful of residents to the mainland in 1953. Life here was hard, but the sea
provided for all, and no one went hungry. Each family had a cow, a few sheep, and a plot
of potatoes. They cut their peat from the high ridge and harvested fish from the sea. To
these folk, World War I provided a bonus, as occasional valuable cargo washed ashore
from merchant ships sunk by U-boats. There was no priest, pub, or doctor. (No phones,
no lights, no motor cars, not a single luxury.) Because they were not entirely dependent
upon the potato, island inhabitants survived the famine relatively unscathed. These people
formed the most traditional Irish community of the 20th century—the symbol of ancient
Gaelic culture.
