Castlegregory (, meaning "Griaire's Castle") is a village in County Kerry,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is situated on the north side of the

Dingle Peninsula The Dingle Peninsula ( ga, Corca Dhuibhne; anglicised as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point ...

, halfway between

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

and

Dingle Dingle ( Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Kill ...

. As of the 2016 Census, Castlegregory had a population of 250. Castlegregory was named after a castle built by Gregory Hoare in the 16th century. It is the principal village in Lettragh, the name given to the northern side of the Dingle Peninsula.

Geography

The village is located at the foot of a sandy peninsula called the

Maharees Maharees or Magharees ( or ''Na Machairí'') is a 5 km long tombolo located on the northern side of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. Fenit Harbour, the main port of County Kerry, is sheltered from large Atlantic swells by ...

separating Brandon Bay to the west from

Bay on the east. Off the peninsula are a number of small islands, called the Seven Hoggs, or the Maharee Islands. A small fishing harbour is located at Fahamore on Scraggane Bay, about 5 km outside the village at the tip of the Maharees peninsula. The village is surrounded by the mountains of the

Dingle peninsula The Dingle Peninsula ( ga, Corca Dhuibhne; anglicised as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point ...

and overlooked directly by Beenoskee and Stradbally Mountains. To the west is

Mount Brandon Mount Brandon or Brandon (), at , is one of the ten highest peaks in Ireland, being the 8th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 9th–highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Brandon is the highest Irish mountain outside the Mac ...

. Castlegregory is also the name of a Roman Catholic parish that includes parts of the northeast area of the Dingle Peninsula and is served by two churches. The village is a tourist destination and it is near to a number of beaches located on the Maharees peninsula. Castlegregory Golf and Fishing Club, a nine-hole links golf course, is located to the west of the village on the shores of

Lough Gill Lough Gill () is a freshwater lough (lake) mainly situated in County Sligo, but partly in County Leitrim, in Ireland. Lough Gill provides the setting for William Butler Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". Location and environment Lough ...

History

On the largest of the

Magharee Islands The Magharee Islands ( gle, Na Machairí), also known as "The Seven Hogs", are a group of uninhabited islands located off Rough Point at the northern tip of the Magharee Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The islands, which are part of the pa ...

, Illauntannig (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

''Oileán tSeanaigh'') are the ruins of a 7th-century monastic site founded by St Senach. On this site there are two oratories, three beehive (or Clochan) huts, and three examples of a leacht (or altar).

Local events

Castlegregory Pattern Day was traditionally celebrated on 15 August, when the tradition is to eat locally-made mutton pies. In recent years it has been expanded into a three-day summer festival. Wren's Day on 26 December is also celebrated. The traditional straw dresses have given way to pyjamas, curtains, Halloween masks, and Christmas decorations, but there is still traditional Irish music to be heard.

Sport

Castlegregory GAA Club was first known as Castlegregory Allen, named after William Allen, one of the

Manchester Martyrs The "Manchester Martyrs" () is a term used by Irish nationalists to refer to three men—William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O'Brien—who were executed following their conviction of murder in 1867 after an attack on a police van i ...

. The club took part in the first Kerry County Championship played in 1889. For over 40 years football was played on a pitch with a 21 feet gradient from top to bottom, however, a new ground was opened on 17 May 2003.

Transport

Castlegregory was the terminus of a branch line of the

Tralee and Dingle Light Railway __NOTOC__ The Tralee and Dingle Light Railway and Tramway was a , narrow gauge railway running between Tralee and Dingle, with a branch from Castlegregory Junction to Castlegregory, in County Kerry on the west coast of Ireland. It operated bet ...

. The railway station opened on 1 April 1891, and closed for passenger traffic on 17 April 1939. It connected to the main Tralee - Dingle route at Castlegregory Junction (near Camp). While this main route closure stopped passenger traffic, it was to remain open for a once-daily goods train until 1947, after which nothing but a monthly Tralee - Dingle cattle train operated until the main line's final closure in 1953.

References