County Kerry

County Kerry (Contae Chiarraí) is a county in the south west of, in the province of the , informally referred to as The Kingdom. It has an area of 4,746 km² (1,832 sq mi), and is bordered by to the east and by  to the south-east. The county town is.

One of Ireland's most famous towns,, is located in Kerry. The an area of outstanding natural beauty are located in. The tip of the is the most westernly point in mainland Ireland and Europe

Geography
Kerry, on the south-west of Ireland, faces the and typical of the Atlantic coast, features many  and inlets, principally the, the , and the , shared with neighbouring. The county is bordered on the west by the and on the north by the.

The on the  is a popular route for tourists and cyclists. The pedestrian version is the scenic which follows ancient paths generally higher than that adopted by the Ring of Kerry.

Kerry contains two of the three highest mountains in Ireland,, part of the range and , part of the Slieve Mish range.

The in the centre of the county are a scenic tourist attraction.

Just off Kerry's coast are a number of islands, including the, and the. is a, famous for the  clinging to the island's cliffs.

Kerry contains the of Ireland  on the Dingle Peninsula, or including islands,, part of the Blaskets. The most westerly inhabited area of Ireland is, on the Dingle Peninsula.

The, the and the  flow through Kerry, into the Atlantic.

Towns & parishes
The towns of Tralee, Killarney and Listowel are administered by their respective Town Councils and are separate administrative entities from Kerry County Council. However each town elects representatives to the County Council.

Other places in the county include:
 * , formerly known as Smerwick
 * , a parish in East Kerry
 * , a border region of Kerry, and  known for
 * , another name for the, the region of Kerry

Climate
The, part of the , flows north by Kerry and the west coast of Ireland, resulting in milder temperatures than would otherwise be expected at the 52 North. This means that plants such as the  and s, not normally found in Northern Europe, thrive in the area. There are a number of gardens in the county, open to visitors.

Because of the mountainous area and the prevailing south-westerly winds, Kerry is among the regions with the highest in Ireland. Due to its location, the area is the site of a weather reporting station on Valentia for many centuries. The Irish record for one-day rain-fall is 243.5mm, recorded at Cloore Lake, in Kerry in 1993.

In 1986, the remnants of crossed over Kerry as an  causing extensive rainfall, flooding and damage.

History
On, , by , was confirmed in the feudal seniority of the entire county palatine of Kerry, to him and his heirs male, to hold of the Crown by the service of one knight's fee.

In the, the majority of the area now known as County Kerry was still part of the , the west Munster seat of the , a branch of the  family, known as the.

In, during the , one of the most infamous massacres of the , the , took place at Dún an Óir near (Smerwick) at the tip of the. The 600-strong Italian, Spanish and Irish of  was besieged by the English forces and massacred.

In 1588 when the fleet of the were returning to  during stormy weather, many of their ships sought shelter at the  and some were wrecked.

During the, Kerry was again the scene of conflict, as the O'Sullivan Beare clan joined the rebellion. In 1602, their castle at was  by English troops. Beare, in an effort to escape English retribution and to reach his allies in, marched all the clan's members and dependents to the north of Ireland. Due to harassment by hostile forces and the freezing weather, very few of the 1,000 O'Sullivans who set out reached their destination.

In the aftermath of the War, much of the native owned land in Kerry was confiscated and given to English settlers or 'planters'. The head of the family,  was imprisoned in London and his lands were divided between his relatives and colonists from England, such as the Browne family.

In the 1640s, Kerry was engulfed by the, an attempt by Irish Catholics to take power in the Protestant. The rebellion in Kerry was led by. McCarthy held the county during the subsequent and his forces were some of the last to surrender to the  in 1652. The last stronghold to fall was, near Killarney.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Kerry became increasingly populated by poor tenant farmers, who came to rely on the as their main food source. As a result, when the potato crop failed in 1845, Kerry was very hard hit by the of 1845-49. In the wake of the famine, many thousands of poor farmers emigrated to seek a better life in America and elsewhere. Kerry was to remain a source of emigration until recent times. Another long term consequence of the famine was the of the 1870s and 1880s, in which tenant farmers agitated, sometimes violently for better terms from their landlords.

In the 20th century, Kerry was one of the counties most affected by the (1919-21) and  (1922-23). In the war of Independence, the fought a guerrilla war against the, and British military. One of the more prominent incidents in the conflict in Kerry, were the 'siege of Tralee' in November 1920. when the placed  under curfew for a week, burned many homes and shot dead a number of local people in retaliation for the IRA killing of 5 local policemen the night before. Another was the Headford Junction ambush in spring 1920, when IRA units ambushed a train carrying British soldiers outside Killarney. About twenty British soldiers, three civilians and two IRA men were killed in the ensuing gun battle. Violence between the IRA and the British was ended in July 1921, but nine men, four British soldiers and five IRA men, were killed in a shootout in Castleisland on the day of the truce itself, indicating the bitterness of the conflict in Kerry.

Following the, most of the Kerry IRA units opposed the settlement. In the ensueing civil war between pro and anti-treaty elements, Kerry was perhaps the worst affected area of Ireland. Initially the county was held by the but it was taken for the  after  by Free State troops at [Fenit and. Thereafter the county saw a bitter guerrilla war between men who had been comrades only a year previously. The republicans, or 'irregulars' mounted a number of successful actions, for example attacking and taking in September 1922. In March 1923, Kerry saw a series of of republican prisoners by  soldiers in reprisal for the ambush of their men -the most notorious being the killing of 8 men with mines at Ballyseedy, near Tralee. The internecine conflict was brought to an end in May 1923, but left deep scars in Kerry's public life.

Culture
As a region on the extremity of Ireland, culture of Kerry was less susceptible to outside influences and is principally associated with, song and dance.

Kerry is also known for its which is the most successful ing team in  winning the  cup 35 times, with the next nearest team  on 22 wins. See also the.

The county has three local newspapers: ' and ', published in Tralee; and , published in Killarney. The county has a commercial radio station,, which commenced operations in 1990.

Transport
Kerry is accessible by road, rail, sea and air. The main s into Kerry are the and the  from Limerick and the  from  each terminating in Tralee. The from Castleisland to Farranfore also connects these roads. Within Kerry, the well-known follows the, a  which circles the Iveragh Peninsula and links at Kenmare with the  to. operates an extensive bus service network on routes throughout the county with connection hubs in Killarney and Tralee.

Kerry is served by  at Tralee, Farranfore and Killarney which connect to Cork and, via.

Branch line services existed to each of the peninsula (Beara, Iveragh and Dingle) and also to the north of the county. They were closed during the of the  and. These included services to: -, a narrow-gauge railway, closed in July 1953 -Kenmare via Headford Junction (8 miles outside Killarney), closed in February 1960 -Valentia via Farranfore (the Gleesk Viaduct near Kellsis still exists), also closed in February 1960 -Listowel (and Abbeyfeale, Newcastlewest and Adare) were served via the North-Kerry line, which extended from Tralee to Limerick. Passenger service ceased in 1963, freight in 1983 and the lines were pulled up in 1988.

Listowel to Ballybunion had the distinction of operating experimental services from 1882 to 1924. A 500m section was re-established in 2003.

A road-car route, the Prince of Wales Route, was a link from to Killarney, operated by the  as a service for tourists.

is located at Farranfore in the centre of the county and has operated scheduled services since 1989. Destinations served are Dublin,, ,  and  operated by  and.

harbour near Tralee is a regional harbour capable of handling ships of up to 17,000 tonnes. Large container cranes from s in Killarney are regularly exported worldwide. A rail-link to the port was closed in the 1970s. The harbour at is one of Ireland's secondary fishing ports.

Septs, families and titles
A number of Irish are derived from septs who hail from the Kerry area, such as, , , ,  , , , , , , , , ,  and.

The area was also home to the families, the s and the, a branch of the s.

Titles in the British with a family seat in Kerry are
 * the - a branch of Fitzgeralds who had lands at Valentia Island
 * the (also ,  and )  - the descendants of  who was awarded lands in Killarney
 * the - the Fitzgeralds of Desmond who had lands in North Kerry until they were seized at the end of the Desmond Rebellions
 * the (also , ) - the descendants of  who was awarded lands in Kenmare and elsewhere
 * the (also , ) - the Fitzmaurice family
 * the - the Hare family
 * the - the Mullins family who had lands in the Dingle Peninsula, including Ventry

appears to have been associated with lands in, rather than Kerry

Attractions
Kerry, with its mountains, lakes and Atlantic coastline is among the most scenic areas in Ireland and is among the most significant tourist destinations in Ireland. Killarney is the centre of the tourism industry, which is a significant element of the economy in Kerry.

The, and  are walking routes in the county.

Attractions include:

Historic sites of Kerry:
 * Scotias Grave
 * Ecclesiastical sites at Ardfert
 * Rattoo Round Tower
 * Scotias Grave
 * Ecclesiastical sites at Ardfert
 * Rattoo Round Tower
 * Ecclesiastical sites at Ardfert
 * Rattoo Round Tower

Notable residents
Historical figures

Associated People

Political Figures

Sporting figures

Literary and Musical figures

Politics
Kerry is currently represented in the by six  returned from two Dáil parliamentary constituencies in the  and three Senators in the.

The TDs currently elected are:




 * (Fianna Fáil)
 * (Independent)
 * (Independent)
 * (Independent)

The Senators currently elected are:
 * (Fine Gael)
 * (Fianna Fáil)
 * (Fianna Fáil)

Ecology
The herbarium DBN (Herbarium National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin) contains specimens from the Kerry coast. A list of algal records from County Kerry is given in (Cullinane, 1973 p.58 - 83).