Ventry (), officially ''Ceann Trá'',Ventry/Ceann Trá

Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland ( ga, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of ...

. is a

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

village in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, on 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 ...

, 7 kilometres west of

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 ...

. Due to its long sandy beach, Ventry is a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

destination. The town is connected to Dingle via the R559 regional road. Six kilometres west of Ventry are the ruins of

Dunbeg Dunbeg ( gd, An Dùn Beag), formerly known as Dunstaffnage ( gd, Dùn Stafhainis or ''Dùn Staidhinis''), is a village about outside of Oban, Scotland. It has a population of just under 1,000. It is home to the Scottish Association for Marin ...

(''An Dún Beag''), an Iron Age

promontory fort A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to da ...

on the edge of a steep cliff. Near Dunbeg is Kilvickadownig, home to other archeological ruins, including examples of the

beehive house A beehive house is a building made from a circle of stones topped with a domed roof. The name comes from the similarity in shape to a straw beehive. Occurrences The ancient Bantu used this type of house, which was made with mud, poles, and c ...

and the grave of Caol or Cháil Mic Crimthainn, the last to die in the Battle of Ventry from the well-known

Fenian Cycle The Fenian Cycle (), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle ( ga, an Fhiannaíocht) is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warrior band the Fianna. Sometimes called the Ossi ...

myths. A site of interest in Ventry parish is Rahinnane Castle, which was the residence of the

Knight of Kerry Knight of Kerry (), also called The Green Knight, is one of three Hiberno-Norman hereditary knighthoods, all of which existed in Ireland since feudal times. The other two were The White Knight (surname fixed as Fitzgibbon), being dormant sinc ...

. The Knight of Kerry lived there until Cromwellian times. The castle was built on the site of an old

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wale ...

. The ringfort was built up and a second added with walls of six metres (20 feet), giving the appearance that there may have been a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

, although there never was one. Rahinnane Castle still has its very tiny, narrow, stone stairs, from the first to second floors, which can be carefully climbed. Ventry was home to

Páidí Ó Sé Páidí Ó Sé (, ; 16 May 1955 – 15 December 2012) was an Irish Gaelic football manager and player, whose league and championship career at senior level with the Kerry county team spanned fifteen seasons from 1974 to 1988. Ó Sé is wide ...

, the well-known Kerry

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

, who owned a pub across from the parish church until his death in 2012.

Canon James Goodman Canon James Goodman (22 September 1828 – 18 January 1896) was a Church of Ireland clergyman, a piper and a collector of Irish music and songs. Life As a cleric Goodman was born in Ballyameen, Dingle, County Kerry and was raised in Ventry ...

, the music collector and Professor of Irish at Trinity College, Dublin, was raised in Ventry.

Ventry Bay

The bay or harbour is a suitable anchorage for sailing and fishing boats. On 4 October 1939, entered Ventry Bay and landed 28 Greek sailors of the ''MV Diamantis''. Their ship had been torpedoed by a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

. The event was commemorated with a plaque in October 2009. Guests included the German Ambassador Dr. Busso von Alvensleben and the Mayor of the

Oinousses Oinousses ( el, Οινούσσες, alternative forms: ''Aignousa'' (Αιγνούσα) or ''Egnousa'' (Εγνούσα)) is a barren cluster of 1 larger and 8 smaller islands some off the north-east coast of the Greek island of Chios and west of ...

Islands in the Aegean, Evangelos Elias Angelakos who unveiled the memorial ston

and members of London's Greek shipping community.

References

External links

Dingle Peninsula Tourism: VentryGreek freighter DIAMANTIS, sunk on 3 October 1939 by German U-Boat U-35Live weather station: Ventry
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Kerry Bays of County Kerry Beaches of County Kerry Gaeltacht towns and villages Gaeltacht places in County Kerry

Ventry Bay

See also

References

External links