"Orlikins ag dul go dti an Daingean agus... " a Dingle Travel Page by orlikins

The one perk of taking higher level Irish language for my Leaving Cert was the weekend down in the Kerry Gaeltacht.

Kerry was the closest Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) to Limerick, which is where I lived at the time. Compared to the other Gaelic dialects, the Kerry Irish dialect is a lot easier to understand. Apart from the stunning scenery, Dingle is one of the last remaining areas in Ireland where people speak Irish Gaelic as their first language. Teenagers from all over the country are sent there in the summer to improve their Gaeilge. (myself included!)

Also, the novel we had to study for the Leaving Cert was based in the area. It was "Peig" , by Peig Sayers. It will never matter what language you read this book in, it will be the most depressing load of crap you will have ever read in your life. It starts off with "I'm an old woman now, with one foot in the grave and the other foot on the edge" and it gets worse after that. Basically she was paired off with a man from the Blasket Islands to become his wife and she had loads of kids, some died (or had suspicious accidents), others left home as soon as they could. Peig was Hailed as "the great classic of Irish literature", the fact that it was ghost-written is entirely overlooked! :) Reading Peig, I can personally guarantee you, will make you more depressed than being locked into the room force-fed with The Smiths and Joy Division ad nauseam. For a much more entertaining account on life in Dingle, I would recommend you read "A Thig n? Tit Orm" by Maidhc Dain?n O'S?. ("House, don't fall on me" in English).

However I digress....

The Kerry Gaeltacht is known as Corca Dhuibhne, it is the irish for this part of the Dingle Peninsula.
We stayed with various families in the area and we went to see local sights like the Gallarus Oratory, Ventry beach, Peigs grave etc.

This whole area is beautiful, though isolated. Its where everyone knows each other and want to stay living here even though economic/social circumstances may dictate otherwise.