Republic of Ireland, Kenmare

Kenmare is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. The Irish name for the town 'An Neidín' translates into English as 'The Little Nest'. The name Kenmare is the anglicised form of Ceann Mhara "head of the sea", which refers to the furthest point inland reached by the sea.

Location

Kenmare is located at the head of Kenmare Bay (An Ribhéar) where the Roughty River (An Ruachtach) flows into the sea, and at the junction of the Iveragh Peninsula and the Beara Peninsula. The bay is more commonly called the Kenmare River, from which its modern Irish name An Ribhéar comes.

History

The entire area was granted to the English scientist, Sir William Petty by Oliver Cromwell as part payment for completing the mapping of Ireland, the Down Survey in 1656. He laid out the modern town circa 1670.

However, the area has more ancient roots. There is one of the biggest stone circles in Ireland very close to the town, showing occupation by Celtic peoples long before English occupation. The circle has 15 stones around the circumference with a bolder dolmen in the centre.

The convent in the town, the Poor Clare Sisters, was founded in 1861 by Sister Mary Frances Cusack, who was also an author and publisher of many books. The convent established a lace-working industry and Kenmare Lace became noted worldwide.

The town is noted for receiving Ireland's tidiest town award in 2000. The Catholic Church in the town contains stained glass from Franz Mayer & Co..

The town library is one of the Carnegie Libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie. It opened in 1915, and the architect was R.M. Butler.

Tourism

Kenmare lies on two of the more famous Irish tourist attractions, the Ring of Kerry and the Ring of Beara, approximately 32 kilometres (20 miles) from Killarney. As a result it is a very popular tourist destination and many of the businesses in the area cater to tourists.

People

Kenmare was home to English composer Ernest John Moeran for a number of years up to his death and a local bar is named after him. Gaelic footballer Mickey 'Ned' O'Sullivan is from the town, while another footballer, Pat Spillane, comes from nearby Templenoe.

Fair Days

Due to its location at the centre of a large agricultural area, Kenmare served as the local market town. Until the establishment of an auction mart in the early 1990s, the approximately monthly fair days were a time when farmers would stand their animals in the streets for sale to visiting stock dealers.

Transport

There are daily bus-services to Killarney. There is also a daily service to Cork in the summer months. Kenmare connects to Killarney on the mountainous and scenic N71 route via Molls Gap and Ladies View or alternatively on the more convenient route via Kilgarvan. N71 forms part of the Ring of Kerry. Kenmare also lies on the N70 south-Cork route to Glengarriff.