Happy New Year….starting it off right
We are near Molls Gap on the Ring of Kerry. At our feet is Eric townland, there’s an eponymous Bog Nature Reserve down there. At our feet is Eric townland, there’s an eponymous Bog Nature Reserve down there.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Looking toward Lough Gummeenduff
We are near Molls Gap on the Ring of Kerry. At our feet is Eric townland, there’s an epynmous Bog Nature Reserve down there.g of Kerry. At our feet is Eric townland, there’s an eponymous Bog Nature Reserve down there.
Townlands Derrylough, Crossderry and distant Bunbinnia take up most of the view. Those familiar with post-glacial topography will recognize the glacially oversteepened slopes of the distant through valley. The valley floor is a glacial outwash plain.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Across the far mountains is Black Valley
Here we are still standing in Moll’s Gap, looking a bit farther northwest into Black Valley than for View Two. Across the far mountains is Black Valley, a place so remote it was among the last, on the island itself (“mainland”) to be electrified or connected to telephone networks. Today Black Valley is a southerly route to the Gap of Dunloe well known to certain hikers and cyclists.
I am struggling here to deal with the vast range of light intensity from the glow of a westering sun, to the shadows cast by surrounding heights.
Beneath our feet are the slopes of Derrygarriff (in Irish Doire Gharbh) of the Mangerton range. Across the way is Crossderry peak of the Dunkerron mountains, the townland is named for the peak (or vice versa).
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Here is a second try, a bit more successful as the clouds opened to shine on distant land. I did work in Photoshop to manage the brightest clouds.
Here are all three versions of the Black Valley view from Moll’s Gap. Enjoy
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Black Valley
Here we are standing in Moll’s Gap, looking northwest into Black Valley, a place so remote it was among the last, on the island itself (“mainland”) to be electrified or connected to telephone networks.
Beneath our feet are the slopes of Derrygarriff (in Irish Doire Gharbh) of the Mangerton range. Across the way is Crossderry peak of the Dunkerron mountains, the townland is named for the peak. Black Valley, now a southerly route to the Gap of Dunloe well known to certain hikers and cyclists, is beyond the far mountains.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Boo!! on this Halloween
Here we are, on the road from Kenmare to Killarney, N71, part of the Ring of Kerry around the Iveragh Peninsula. The spot is the mountain pass Moll’s Gap, also known in the Irish language as Céim an Daimh (meaning, Gap of the Ox). In the Nineteenth Century a woman named Moll Kissane ran a public house here, operating illegally.
The mountain of this townland, named Eirk (also known as Adhard) , is composed of a fine grained sandstone found in a wide swath from North America’s northeastern coast, Greenland, Ireland, Great Britain — lands formerly part of the same ancient continent.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day 2021 “No Snakes”
Number six of six from the Kerry County side on the descent Healy Pass, R574. Here we move away from, say goodbye (hopefully, for now) to these marvelous views, our first sight of County Kerry.
Two more strange, conical hills come into view, repeating those in the distance. These have a long story.
Beara Peninsula, Coolcreen townland, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Coolcreen Townland
Number three of six from the Kerry County side on the descent Healy Pass, R574. I enhanced view three to level the horizon. A side by side comparison is provided, below.
It is possible to just make out several lake houses. Click me for more information about who live here during the early twentieth century.
Click me to learn more about the name of the lake.
Beara Peninsula, Coolcreen townland, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
horizontal
Number five of six from the Kerry County side on the descent Healy Pass, R574. Less sky and more land in this horizontal aspect.
Lavender hedgerows drawn the eye to that conical distant hill. In the lower left the new rhododendron leaves are flower-like.
Beara Peninsula, Coolcreen townland, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day
Number four of six from the Kerry County side on the descent Healy Pass, R574. Here I turn the camera on the Manfrotto studio tripod with hydrostatic ball head to the original view, a little less lit with a better leveling of the horizon.
A first glance, the rhododendrons in bloom are beautiful along the hedgerows and the foreground. Click me for our first encounter with this flowering plant. Later, during out stay at Ashford Castle, County Mayo, during kayaking on Lough Corrib, I remembered this scene and described it to my guide. He filled me in the rhododendron is a notorious invasive species. Click me for an interesting article with all the details.
Here is story of visitors LOST in a rhododendron forest.
Beara Peninsula, Coolcreen townland, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland.
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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Coolcreen Townland
Number three of six from the Kerry County side on the descent Healy Pass, R574. I turned the camera a few more degrees into the gathering darkness, under the cloud, for an almost complete view of Glanmore Lake.
It is possible to just make out several lake houses. Click me for more information about who live here during the early twentieth century.
Click me to learn more about the name of the lake.
Beara Peninsula, Coolcreen townland, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland.
You can easily view a higher resolution versions by clicking on the photograph to open a browser tab.
Click photograph for a larger version.
Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved
Michael Stephen Wills Photography 
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