Annascaul

Abhainn an Scáil

ACCOMMODATION & DINING
   WALKING    INCH STRAND
   TOM CREAN    JEROME CONNOR   
   THINGS TO DO   

Annascaul is a walker's paradise. Hill and dale, sea, river, lake make an ever-changing pattern, with the wild flowers of Kerry blooming everywhere.

village (7K) village2 (6K)

Situated as it is on the southwest tip of Ireland, the Gulf Stream plays a more warming part than it does for the rest of the country. For the holiday maker, this gives a longer season of enjoyment. The first flowers of Spring appear shortly after Christmas and the gorse is still in bloom at the end of October.

Inch Strand


Three miles of sandy beach, for bathing, surfing, sea angling. Inch Strand was chosen by David Lean as the beach location for "Ryan's Daughter". The film "Playboy of the Western World" was shot entirely at Inch.

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Walking

Annascaul and Inch lie in the southern foothills of the Slieve Mish mountains. This range forms the backbone of the Dingle Peninsula and rises to peaks of over 2,000 feet. Mountains and beaches are an exciting combination offering amazing views and many possibilities for recreation. Walking in the area ranges from sea level to the mountains around Annascaul's lake and river. The "Dingle Way" passes through Inch and Annascaul. We also have our own way-marked walks. Wherever you walk, the views are breathtaking, the countryside unspoilt, and the routes unfrequented. The Annascaul and Inch Walking Festival is held over the October bank holiday weekend. It is a three-day guided walking festival.

Annascaul Walking Club Website

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Fishing

Annascaul's lake and rivers provide excellent freshwater fishing. Inch Strand is an acknowledged international shore angling venue.

Water Sports

The Peninsula is surrounded by the Atlantic and washed by the Gulf Stream, giving pure ocean water, a mild climate and a clean environment for bathing, surfing, sailing and wind surfing.

Wild Life Sanctuary

Apart from providing us with a beautiful strand, Inch sand spit and coastline is an area of geological and ecological significance hosting an extensive range of wildlife.

Legends

Stories abound of giants such as Cu Chulainn who is said to have inhabited this area. The supposed ruins of his house and castle are in the mountains above Annascaul Lake.

Archaeological Sites

The area boasts the highest density of archaeological sites and antiquities in the land. We have evidence of several periods of early development abounding in the area. The Neolithic Stone Age has left several cultivated sites. The Bronze Age has left us with megalithic wedge graves, Ogham stones, standing stones, and cup and circle stones. The Iron Age coincided with the arrival of the Celts and has left evidence in the shape of the hill, ring and promontory forts. The Christian period has left monastic sites, beehive huts and small beautiful churches.

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Accommodation & Dining

The Old Anchor Inn
Guesthouse & Restaurant

Dingle Road
Annascaul
Co. Kerry
Tel. 066 915 7382
e-mail:
theoldanchorinn@gmail.com
website:
www.oldanchorinn.com
Facebook:
The Old Anchor Inn
The South Pole Inn

Annascaul
Co. Kerry
Tel. 066 915 7388              
Facebook:
The South Pole Inn
Annascaul Heights
Self Catering Holiday Homes
The Pound Road
Annascaul
Co. Kerry
Tel. +353 87 6266815
e-mail:
annascaulheights@yahoo.ie
website:
Home Page
Teac Seáin Traditional Irish Pub
and Bed and Breakfast
Annascaul
Co. Kerry
Tel: +353 (0)66 9157001

e-mail :
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website :
Homepage
Ardrinane House Bed & Breakfast
Deirdre O'Donnell,
Annascaul,
Co. Kerry
Phone: +353 (0) 66 9157119
e-mail :
ardrinanehouse@eircom.net
website :
Homepage
Inch Beach House Bed & Breakfast
Inch
Co. Kerry
Tel: +353 (0)66 9158118

e-mail :
info@inchbeach.ie
website :
Homepage
Inch Beach Self Catering Cottages
Inch
Co. Kerry
Tel: +353 (0)66 9158118

e-mail :
info@inchbeach.ie
website :
Homepage
Sammys Bar, Restaurant and Café
Inch Beach
Co. Kerry
Tel: +353 (0)66 9158118

e-mail :
info@inchbeach.ie
website :
Homepage

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Tom Crean

tomcrean2 (15K)

Annascaul is the birthplace of famous Antarctic explorer Tom Crean (1877-1938).
Crean enlisted in the British Royal Navy at the age of 15. He was a member of Captain Scott's 1911–13 Terra Nova Expedition, which saw the race to reach the South Pole lost to Roald Amundsen, and ended in the deaths of Scott and his polar party. He was also second officer on the Endurance under Ernest Shackleton. After the ship became beset in the pack ice and sank, he spent months drifting on the ice and undertook an open boat journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island to South Georgia.
Following his retirement from the navy, Crean returned to Annascaul, where he opened the South Pole Inn. In July 2003 a statue of Tom Crean was unveiled in the village.

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Jerome Connor

jerome (11K)

Internationally renowned sculptor Jerome Connor (1874-1943) was also born in Annascaul.
Connor moved to Massachussets in the United States at a young age, and ran away from home. After trying many trades (foundry-man, professional prize fighter, machinist, sign painter, Japanese intelligence officer in Mexico, stonecutter) he became a sculptor. His most notable sculptures are in Washington D.C.: statues of Robert Emmett (a cast of which is in Dublin) and Bishop John Carroll, and the Nuns of the Battlefield tablet.
When the Irish Free State achieved independence in 1922, Connor returned to the country and executed designs for the new coinage and made relief portraits of the leading politicians of the time.
In 1925 he won a prestigious commission from a New York committee to create a monument in Cobh, Co. Cork to commemmorate the lives lost in the sinking of the Lusitania. Sadly, eighteen years later, at the time of his death, the project had not been completed. Connor had become a bankrupt and alcoholic, and died in a Dublin slum aged 67. The Lusitania Monument was eventually completed by another artist.
Connor's sculptures remain to be seen on both sides of the Atlantic.

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