Ireland: All about County Kerry Quiz

Answer: Ratass Church

Older than the town it stands in, Ratass Church gets its name from "Rath Mhaighe Deiseirt," which means "Fort of the Southern Plain." The church was built some time in the 10th century. The church features ogham stone inscriptions, around 400 of which are found around Ireland dating back as early as the 5th century. The stone at Ratass Church is purple sandstone, and is inscribed with "name of Sílán son of Fáithloga" and was discovered in 1975 while the church was being cleaned.

Ogham stones are typically inscribed in the language of Archaic Irish, however some stones have been discovered to contain Pictish script.

Answer: Limerick

Located in the province of Munster, County Kerry is Munster's second-largest county by area, second only to Cork. It is the fifth-largest of all of Ireland's counties. County Limerick lies east of County Kerry, and County Cork lies southeast of County Kerry.

County Kerry encompasses an area of around 1,855 square miles (4,805 square km).

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

Waterville is a village located on the on a thin isthmus of the Iveragh Peninsula. Charlie Chaplin first visited the village in 1959, staying in the Butler Arms Hotel. He was so enamoured with Waterville that he brought his family to holiday there annually for ten years. Charlie Chaplin never set any of his films in Ireland, was not Irish and never played an Irish character, however he became beloved by the community in Waterville due to his annual stays in their village.

There is a bronze statue of Charlie Chaplin in Waterville, and a plaque thanking him for regularly visiting the community. Waterville still holds an annual Charlie Chaplin film festival.

Answer: Muckross Lake

Muckross Lake is around 245 feet (75m) deep in some places. With Lough Leane and Upper Lake, it is one of the three Lakes of Killarney, all three being popular tourist attractions in County Kerry. Salmon and trout reside in the lake and there is a fishery there for them. Muckross Lake is also home to Salvelinus obtusus, more commonly known as the blunt-nosed Irish charr, or the blunt-snouted Irish char, which is an endangered species of fish.

Similar to the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, Muckross Lake (and the other two main lakes of Killarney) are subject to a legend regarding a large beast residing in their waters. Known as "Muckie" the creature was searched for in 2003 by scientists using sonar technology, with a large solid object being discovered, lending credence to the theory.

Answer: Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael is situated around 8 miles (12 km) west from the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, the largest peninsula in the southwest of Ireland. The crag consists of Old Red Sandstone and slate, and is named after Saint Michael, with "skellig" being derived from Gaelic script regarding rock. The highest point of the island is around 715 feet (220 m) high above sea level. A variety of birds including puffins, peregrine falcons, eyries and gannets inhabit Skellig Michael as well as around 50 seals. Skellig Michael was established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The island remained largely uninhabited by humans until the establishment of the Augustinian monastery there. There is a rock named the "wailing woman" in the middle of the island under the Christ's Saddle ridge.

Skellig Michael was used as a site to film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2015) and "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017), with footage of the island also being included in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (2019). Similar to the real-life solitary nature of Skellig Michael, the filming location serves as Luke Skywalker's solitary refuge in the films.

Answer: Derrynane House

Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847) was called the "Liberator" when he was alive, and was the leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic population. He was from a rich Catholic family who, although they were wealthy, lived under control of the Protestants. He was the oldest of ten children. His leadership of the Catholics in Ireland, including the poorest, was the catalyst for the final stage of the Catholic Emancipation in Ireland, where severe restrictions on Catholicism and the policing of Catholics were lifted. He was elected into the UK Parliament twice.

He was also passionate about fighting against slavery in America, and human rights in general of people all over the world, from the Aborigines in Australia, the peasants in India, the Māori of New Zealand and the Jews across Europe. Although Catholic, he certainly did not consider the Pope infallible, and was very vocal about his disgust at how Pope Gregory XVI had treated Jewish people residing in the Papal States.

Derrynane House was the home of Daniel O'Connell. It is listed as a national monument and is located at the tip of the Iveragh Peninsula, near the village of Derrynane. The house is now a museum and has been open to the public since 1967, but it had been the home of the O'Connells going back generations. The house and its surrounding grounds encompasses around 120 hectares (300 acres). After Daniel O'Connell died in 1847, the house was still the home of his descendants until 1948 when the Derryane trust was established, turning the house into a museum to honour his memory and legacy.

Answer: Killarney National Park

Killarney National Park became Ireland's first National Park in 1932. At around 2,750 feet (840 m) high, Mangerton Mountain is the highest peak of Killarney National Park. The park has a population of red deer, and is abundant in oak and yew trees, and in 1981 was listed as a a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The red deer herd here has been present since the Neolithic Period, and is the last surviving indigenous herd in the country.

Killarney National Park is also home to the Reenadinna Woods, one of the largest yew tree sites in Western Europe.

Answer: Dingle

The Dingle Peninsula is the northernmost main peninsula of County Kerry. It is named for the town of Dingle.

Dingle is 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Tralee, Kerry's county town, and around 40 miles (70 m) northwest of the town of Killarney. It is known for its aquarium and the detailed stained-glass windows of the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, designed by Irish artist, Harry Clarke. During the tourist season Irish music can be heard throughout the town.

On the outskirts of the town lies Dingle Distillery, which produces whiskey, vodka and gin and was opened in 2012. Dingle Distillery became the first independent Irish distillery to create single pot still whiskey (made with malted and unmalted barley in a pot still) after decades of a standstill in independent production of Irish whiskey.

Answer: Baurtregaum

The Slieve Mish Mountains are an old red sandstone mountain range coursing around 12 miles (just under 20 km) and are located at the eastern end of the Dingle Peninsula, with Baurtregaum located in the centre of the range. The Slieve Mish mountains afford a view of the Dingle Bay on the south side, and the Tralee Bay on the north side. The Slieve Mish mountains are filled with legend and Irish mythology, with one legend stating that a haunting figure with a black dog regularly walks the mountains, but vanishes whenever they are approached, only to reappear on another part of the mountains. Other legends state that visiting the mountains can cure mental illness.

Baurtregaum is around 2,790 feet (850 m) high and is the 18th-highest peak of Ireland according to the the Vandeleur-Lynam scale, however the Arderin scale asserts it is the 13th-highest peak. Baurtregaum is connected to the second highest mountain of the Slieve Mish Mountains, Caherconree (which is 2,740 feet or 835 m high) by a western ridge.

Answer: Uragh Stone Circle

Standing since the Bronze Age, the Uragh Stone Circle is an axial stone circle, that is, a collection of megaliths. These types of stone monuments are found particularly throughout County Kerry and County Cork. The Uragh Stone Circle consists of five large rocks, with four low megaliths surrounding a 10 feet (3 m) tall standing stone. This site has spectacular surrounding scenery of mountains, lakes and waterfalls.

The use of the Uragh Stone Circle during the time it was constructed is unclear, as with the other stone circles of Ireland. However archaeologists have speculated that they were used for religious ceremonies, funerals and other kinds of gatherings.

Answer: John B. Keane

Listowel is a market town located approximately 20 miles (30 km) away from Tralee. Listowel does have a statue of Bryan MacMahon, however it is located at Listowel Castle. Listowel has a long history with novelists and is home to the Kerry Writers Museum.

Born in Listowel, John B. Keane (1928-2002) had a variety of work in his life, including street cleaning, bartending and owning a pub in his home town from 1955. In the 1950s he received his first payment for his writing, earning £15 writing for a woman's magazine. He wrote the play "Sive" in 1959, which was first performed in Listowel the same year. He named the play this for his sister, Shiela, using the Gaelic version of her name. The play deals with dark subjects including Sive committing suicide rather than be forced to marry an older man. "Sive" deals with the conflict between generations in rural Ireland. He also wrote "The Field" in 1965, a play inspired by the unsolved murder of Moss Moore in County Kerry, 1958.

John B. Keane even has a road named after him (John B. Keane Road), where the Lartigue Monorail and Museum is located.

Answer: Torc Mountain

Standing at 1,755 feet (535 m) high, Torc Mountain is included in the Mangerton Mountain Group and has spectacular views of the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountains, the Lakes of Killarney and the Black Valley.

Torc Mountain gets its name from its association with the Fionn MacCumhaill legend, who is said to have been the leader of the Fianna warriors during the third century. "Torc" means "boar" in Irish, and Fionn MacCumhaill killed a boar with magical powers with his golden spear on the mountain.

Answer: Castleisland

At just under 2.5 miles (4 km) long, Crag Cave is the longest cave in County Kerry, the 10th longest cave in the entirety of Ireland, and the 7th longest in the Republic of Ireland. Visitors must climb over 70 steps in order to access it. It is an ancient cave, forming around 350 million years ago (when what is now Ireland was close to the Equator) created by rivers flowing underground over the limestone. The cave was discovered in 1983.

Situated in the east of County Kerry, Castleisland is located near to the border County Cork and also County Limerick. Notable Irish sports journalist, Con Houlihan, was born in Castleisland in 1925.

Answer: Killorglin

There are no surviving records of when the Puck Fair started, however there are two mentions of the fair recorded around the early 17th century. There are many legends regarding how the fair was born, including pre-Christian Ireland holding the goat (or "puck", a core element of the fair) as a pagan symbol for fertility. The festival takes place over three days from August 10-12, with the goat being crowned in the town square on the first day, before being released back into the wild on the third day.

Killorglin is located around 13 miles (20 km) from Killarney. It is not far from the sea, and is situated on the River Laune.

Answer: MV Ranga

The MV Ranga weighed around 1586 tons, and was a container ship that sank near Slea Head on the Dingle Peninsula in 1982. The ship was originally called "Berta de Perez" and was owned by Spanish company, Naviera Ason SA. However the ship was hired by the Icelandic company, Hafskip, which was once the second-largest shipping company in Iceland before the company's debt caused the company to collapse with national scandal following. The ship was renamed "MV Ranga" to reflect its loan to Iceland.

The MV Ranga sank due to the crew losing control of the ship during a storm. There were thankfully no human casualties, however the ship was unsalvageable and pollution was caused due to the ship breaking apart and leaking oil. The ship was subject to salvage attempts in 1989 but the wreck proved to be inaccessible.