FEEL THE FORCE
Travel like a Jedi along Ireland’s Atlantic coast, Jane Mundy writes.
Around AD 600, some Irish monks decided they needed a harsher environment to fast and pay penance. As the story goes, they rowed to the small island of Skellig Michael, inhabited only by puffins and gulls, and built a monastery. A millennium and a half later, Skellig Michael’s ruins are one of Ireland’s best-known heritage and tourist attractions. The ruins also became the remains of the first Jedi temple in Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the monks were replaced by Luke Skywalker, who chose this place to withdraw from the world.
After waiting two days for the boat to take us to Skellig Michael, a small island 12 kilometres off Ireland’s southwest coast, the force of nature won. “Feck the weather, in Ireland it’s always grand” said Gerard Kennedy, who owns The Moorings Guesthouse and restaurant in Portmagee, County Kerry. The Force brought Star Wars fans here to see where The Last Jedi was filmed, but inclement weather is an opportunity to discover other intergalactic landscapes along the Wild Atlantic Way. And we felt the force of its beauty.
Unpredictable sea conditions cancelled our journey to the island, but weather was more favourable when Star Wars was filmed here. “The crew went by boat and the actors took the helicopter to the island and at night we taught them how to pull pints of Guinness,” says Kennedy, laughing. “When Star Wars fans arrived, dressed up in their cloaks, they only wanted to know about the filming. By the second night they were asking about our history, the monks, about the Ring of Kerry.”
Our disappointment in not reaching Skellig Michael was over by the time we visited the Skellig Experience Centre. Nor did we need the island’s force to feel a slower pace of life.
The village of Ballinskelligs was our first stop on the Skellig Ring along the Ring of Kerry on the Wild Atlantic Way. Got that? There are rings within rings so a wee bit of explaining. The Skellig Ring (which topped Lonely Planet’s 2017 best coastal road trips) is an extension of the famous Ring of Kerry, a 179-kilometre-long circular route. And “The Ring,” a 200-kilometre loop around the Iveragh Peninsula, is part of the Wild Atlantic Way: a 2,400-km road trip that follows the west coast of Ireland, from Malin Head in County Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork in southern Ireland.
“When all those blue water signs were put along the road, I thought it was a gimmick,” says Angie, sitting across from me at the Moorings pub. She must have kissed the Blarney Stone for the gift of gab. “Some of us thought they were warnings about rogue waves or floods and maybe they thought cars would drive into the sea. It was a mystery. Nobody knew it was a marketing scheme to get tourists off the beaten track.”
The organization Failte Ireland in 2012 thought about marketing a road as The Wild Atlantic Drive and “drive” was changed to “way” to broaden the appeal to cyclists and walkers, according to the Irish Times. They cleverly relied upon what was here already: remote and wild beauty, and warm, friendly people with a vibrant culture and history. (Reminds me of how Tofino was branded as “storm watching ” not so long ago.) People just needed to know which road to take. Add to that regular points along the way that provide stories about the landscape and people, past and present. Think of the Wild Atlantic Way as the spine and veering off it are loops, such as the Ring of Kerry.
At Waterville, where we were told St. Patrick picked a three-leaf clover and used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity, we stopped at Charlie Chaplin’s statue for photo ops. He first came to this seaside town in 1959 and returned for the next 10 years, always staying at the Butler Arms Hotel.
We took a turnoff toward the ocean onto Skellig Ring, a road so narrow buses aren’t allowed and we could reach out and touch purple heather and fuchsia along the hedgerows. Here is the splendid intergalactic scenery with kryptonite-green hills, criss-crossed with ancient stone walls, and the remains of Ballinskelligs Castle. In the distance we could see the Skellig Islands.
“Here was the cable station, where in 1866 the transatlantic cable was laid from Nova Scotia to Ballinskelligs,” said Michael O’Leidhin, a local volunteer with a wealth of information. “Denis ‘Cable’ O’Leary, a local hero, dove into the ocean and risked drowning to retrieve the almost-lost cable.”
We strolled Ballinskelligs’ sandy beach, “black with nuns” in the 1960s. “The convent opened in 1942 but the nuns were confined to the far end. They couldn’t cross the stream or talk to anyone, but rules loosened up.”
We walked the new Monk’s Trail, up to the ruins of a 13th century Abbey established by the monks when they abandoned Skellig Michael due to Viking raids and crummy weather. “A lot of smuggling went on here,” said O’Leidhin. “People lured ships ashore by attaching lights to horses’ heads and then ransacked the shipwrecks for wine and tea.” And another snippet: “Coast guard stations were built but after the War of Independence in 1919, the IRA burned them down rather than have them taken by the British army.”
After a lovely dinner in the Royal Hotel Valentia — the walls documenting 200 years of history — we popped into the Moorings bar for one more pint. Along with the band, Gerard Kennedy was singing and playing guitar to Waltzing Matilda. We had a few more pints before staggering upstairs for a kip.
Back on the Ring of Kerry, next stop Killorglin, famous for the Puck Fair, one of Ireland’s oldest festivals. Apparently when Oliver Cromwell’s troops were about to invade, one goat ran into the village and warned residents of imminent danger. For three days a wild mountain goat is brought from the hills and crowned King Puck near the impressive bronze billy statue, and he dines on ash tree branches and cabbage until he’s delivered back to his wee patch.
We continued on to Kenmare for lunch and a pint in No 35. This restaurant showcases Ireland’s cuisine at its finest and talk about farm-to-table: the signature pork dishes come from the owners’ farm up the road. I’ll never forget the black pudding and apple tart.
After a leisurely stroll and window shopping, past a cafe with the sign “The Kerry way is the only way” I was looking in the real estate window. As for Star Wars fans, slated for filming this summer is Star Wars Episode IX, and Ireland anticipates more screen tourism.
If you find yourself there, pop into The Moorings gastropub and join the “pull your own pint” challenge for visitors, from the same tap that the cast and crew pulled theirs. May The Force be with you!
If you go: Some Star Wars fans asked if they could bring their lasers. Gerard Kennedy suggested they check the airline first. Air Canada Rouge flies direct from Vancouver to Dublin, and Aer Lingus from Dublin to Cork and the Wild Atlantic Way.
Check out www.ireland.com for information about visiting Ireland.