The main town on the Iveragh Peninsula, Cahersiveen was once a fishing and market town, but its economy has struggled in recent years. So the authorities went to great lengths to reinvent the city as a tourist center. Although it is called a small town, this place has only 1000 inhabitants, here we are in a county where the capital Killarney has only 14 thousand inhabitants.
Undoubtedly this place offers a lot to the tourist, it is located in the beautiful Iveragh Peninsula near the Ring of Kerry , it has nice streets and buildings, a nice waterfront, the Ferta River, the ruins of Ballycarbery Castle, the restaurants and hotels are not bad at all and the surroundings are magnificent to explore. Words are not enough to illustrate the beauty of County Kerry, a place where the mountains meet the sea.
It may also please those interested in the struggle for Irish independence: it was the birthplace of Daniel O’Connell, the Great Liberator, and it was the place in which the first shots of the Fenian revolt of 1867 were fired.
What to see in Cahersiveen
You can do the Bentee Loop which starts in Cahersiveen and leads to the summit of 376 m of Bentee, the conical hill just south of the city, with superb views of Valentia Island and the hills of the Iveragh Peninsula. Attention, however, I am almost 10 km of road and if you are not very fit you will have a lot of effort. Even though the hill is low, the walk is tough. If you are trained, you will have great views at the end and you will remember this walk for a long time.
After the Fenian uprising of 1867, the barracks of the Royal Irish Constabulary in Cahersiveen has a strange style structure that we can only define Bavarian, complete with a pointed turret and stepped pediments reminiscent of the castles of Prince Ludwig.
The imposing building was burned in 1922 during another uprising, this time against Independence and has since been restored. Today it houses fascinating exhibitions on the rise of Fenian and the life and works of local hero Daniel O’Connell .
For the uninitiated the Fenians were The Irish Republican Brotherhood, a 19th century revolutionary nationalist organization among the Irish in the United States and Ireland. unsuccessfully in Ireland in 1867 and were responsible for isolated revolutionary acts against the British until the early 20th century, when they were gradually eclipsed by the IRA.
About 3km northwest of Cahersiveen, there are stone forts located at 600 m away from each other, both have a ring shape and can be reached from a shared parking lot. Cahergal, the largest and most impressive, dates back to 1000 and has its interior walls.
Leacanabuile is even older than at least 100 years and contains the outlines of four houses. Both have a commanding position overlooking Ballycarbery Castle and Valentia Harbor, with superb views of the Kerry Mountains.
This city is also home to a major Celtic music and culture festival , held every year during the first weekend of August.
655 total views, 2 views today
