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Along the single lane road of Conner Pass – the road which connects Dingle to Brandon Bay – you’ll see the grazing sheep of Ireland. Below: The
Rock of Cashel’s stone fortress was donated to the church in the twelfth century.
of a gravel road. This twelfth century Romanesque church fell
into ruins during Reformation. Again, only four walls remain,
facing a small parishioner’s graveyard with a haunting view of
the green hills succumbing to the distant Atlantic Ocean.
Ireland’s religious heritage shouts loudly. So does its
coastline which offers its own majestic verse. Cliffs of Moher
in Country Clare, touted as the country’s most natural thrill,
rise a sheer 650 feet above the Atlantic. Barraged by rumors of
January’s bad weather causing the Cliffs to be closed to visitors,
we crossed our fingers for sunshine, and scored a morning of
sunshine. The exhibition area, edged by tall standing Liscan-
nor slate, offers up the iconic vista of jagged edges converging
with the pounding sea. Just past O’Brien’s Tower, built in 1835,
is the Coastal Walking Trail which extends about three miles
connecting Liscannor and Doolin. The warning sign tests your
intent, as this demanding trail offers no barriers from the sea.
We ventured a few hundred yards, returning with a new respect
of Mother Nature.
Just as impressive is the coastline of the Dingle Pen-
insula and its western most point, Slea Head. It’s the “edge-of-
the-world” point they say of the Wild Atlantic Way. Driving the
loop of the Dingle, you are introduced to narrow lanes, stone-
fenced fields, fairy forts disguised as mounds of grass, beehive
huts, and then, at a sharp curve, a life-size crucifix signifying
your arrival at Slea Head. The mighty seas charge against a sol-
itary coastline where only a few homes in the small village of
Dunquin remain. In clear view, the Blasket Islands rest off the

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