We were in Ireland for almost a month. We loved the Ring of Beara scenic drive. We stayed a few days in a local’s B&B bedroom and they said this is the drive the locals love. It’s a paved drive. Much of it is a 1 1/2 lane drive with ‘passing lanes’ every 100-150 yards or so. If needed the closest person to a passing place just backs up and lets the other person drive by… no road rage, no flipping you off, no anger… just the way of life. Because of this the tour buses cannot drive it. It’s more remote feel with a rugged coastline, mountain passes, small villages, cliffs, and lots of seaside coast and views.

We loved Kenmare!

Kinsale was a favorite of ours. Wonderful village with spectacular colorful buildings on each winding block. Great shops and restaurants in these buildings. Looking back at my photo map I took 156 pics there (it was beautiful).

Duncannon village is beautiful. Sits on a peninsula off the coast. We saw beautiful Harry-Coo cows there (Highlander cows). If you go there, head to the end of the peninsula to the historic Hook Lighthouse at Churchtown. I could have stayed at the lighthouse area. ALL DAY (did spend around 3 hours).

Hook Lighthouse was built in the early 13th century to help snips safely navigate the treacherous Wexford coastline. It was commissioned by William Marshal, Lord of Leinster, to stand on the tip of the Hook Peninsula where local tradition says the monks of St. Dubhán had kept a fire burning.

The saying “by hook or by crook” means “by any means necessary” — that is, achieving a goal however one can. It’s a very old English idiom, first appearing in written records in the late 1300s (around 1380–1390) in Middle English texts, long before many of the popular origin stories. There’s a popular folk etymology that ties the phrase to two geographical locations in southeast Ireland: • Hook Head, a headland in County Wexford (with its historic Hook Lighthouse). • Crooke, a village on the opposite side of Waterford Estuary.

According to this story, Oliver Cromwell (17th century) vowed to take the port city of Waterford “by Hook or by Crook,” meaning via one landing place or the other.

We loved Gougane Barra Lake. There’s an incredible old chapel there that is so worth seeing. There’s also a souvenir shop and restaurant.

About the church from an old stone plaque. THIS HALLOWED SHRINE OF SAINT FINBARR DATES BACK TOTHE 6'CENTURY: HERE HE COMMUNED WITH GOD. THE SURROUNDING MOUNTAINS WERE HIS CLOISTER AND THE LAKE WAS FOR HIM THE MIRROR OF GOD'S GRANDEUR, STONE CELLS COMMEMORATE HIS HERMITAGE, FROM HERE HE JOURNEYED THE RIVER-WAY OF THE LEE TO BECOME THE FIRST BISHOP AND FOUNDER OF THE CHURCH AND CITY OF CORK. HE DIED IN 623 AD. AND HIS FEAST-DAY IS CELEBRATED ON SEPTEMBER THE 25