When giving advice on traveling to Ireland, I always recommend renting a car and driving southwest from Dublin to the Dingle Peninsula, one of the most beautiful and interesting places in the country. On our trip, we’ll be spending a day there, gasping at the gorgeous scenery, gazing across the water at the Great Blasket Island where famous writers such as Tomás O’Crohan lived and wrote, inspecting the ruins of ancient Christian communities like Gallarus Oratory, and of course, enjoying the atmosphere, shopping, and wonderful food in Dingle Town. Dingle Town is the capitol of this area, a designated Gaelic speaking region or “Gaeltacht,” so an added bonus is getting to hear this beautiful language spoken in the streets and shops and restaurants. There’s even a Gaelic bookshop and café, An Café Liteartha, where the scones and the book browsing are top notch.

For more on the Blasket Islands and the writers who came from there, check out the new handout I’ve posted under “Trip Documents.” We’ll be visiting the Blasket Centre, with its exhibits that celebrate the life and accomplishments of the community. You’ll see their handmade boats, baskets, fishing gear, and other items along with the manuscript of The Islandman and the pen O’Crohan used to write it. If it’s a clear day, we’ll be able to see Skellig Michael and the Little Skellig, two steep, rocky islands sticking jaggedly out of the sea beyond the Blaskets. Uninhabited now, these islands were once home to a thriving monastic community in the days when sea travel was the main way to get around Ireland and Europe. Today they’re famous for being the location of the last scene from the recent Star Wars film, The Force Awakens. The photo to the right shows the treacherous path up to the top of Skellig Michael—not on our itinerary this time!

The scenery is spectacular all around the peninsula, especially at the western tip with its many promontories and islands. If you’re interested, you might take a look at the David Lean’s Ryan’s Daughter (1970), which was filmed in Dingle and has extensive scenes of the gorgeous beaches and vistas. Though the film crew was only in residence for a few months, Dingle natives claim that their presence and interest in Dingle life created the confidence to develop the area as a tourist destination, which along with fishing, is a mainstay of the local economy today.

Dingle Town amounts to just a couple of streets reaching up a hill above the bustling harbor, where Fungie the bottlenose dolphin has hung out to amuse visitors with his antics for over thirty years. This area is favorite with craftspeople and foodies, so we’ll have a great few hours wandering around town. When I travel I like to buy thingfor friends or myself that represent the place they’re from. At Lisbeth Mulcahy’s The Weaver’s Shop on Green Street in Dingle, you can find handwoven scarves, shawls, placemats, and knitted sweaters in colors and patterns that echo the landscape around you.

Next door, Seán Daly’s Dingle Crystal brings the skills and vision of a Waterford trained glass-cutter to the local scene. I love the way Seán’s designs reflect the features of the surrounding area in patterns like Dingle, Skellig, and Blasket. We’ll get to visit him in his workshop and watch him create these wonderful items.

I think you can understand why on almost every trip I make to Ireland, I manage to find a few days for the Dingle Peninsula.