Castleisland...

Castleisland is a busy market town and commerical center of County Kerry. Castleisland is a great place to start your tour of Kerry, it is only 5 miles from Kerry airport the town is often considered the Gateway to Kerry, as the main road to all towns in Western and Southern Kerry passes through here. The town got its name when a moate was built around the castle contecting to the River Maine. The castle was the centre of Desmond power in Kerry, the castle is now in ruins.

The town has a population of about 2,000, and is unusual in that it has the second widest street in Ireland. The town has a number of pubs some featuring Irish music sessions, cafes, restaurants, B&Bs and a couple of Hotels. Castleisland, is in the heart of the Siabh Luachra, a part of Ireland that is famed and valued for it's love and contributions to traditional Irish music and dance. To mark this love of Irish music and dance and to honour one of its greatest ambassators the "Padraig O'Keefe Traditional Music Festival" is held. The festival is held in the month of October. The town also hosts a the Kerry Drama Festival whi the last of the great Irish matchmakers, set in the Stacks Mountains of North Kerry.

Buildings of note in the town are the gothic styled Church of St. Stephen and St. John which was designed by Doolin and the town library which was built with funds from the Carnegie Trust.

 

 

Castleisland has a wide range of quality accommodation to suit all budgets, ranging from hotels and bed & breakfasts to hostels and self catering accommodation. Castleisland has a nice variety of pubs which are well worth a visit on a warm summers evening or a cold winters one!.

For diners there are a selection of restaurants

Crag Cave was discovered by cavers in the 1980's, it is one of the most extinsive cave systems in Ireland and feature salitites and stalicmites. It has a total surveyed length of 3.81Km (12,510 feet ). Crazy Cave at Crag Caves is an Indoor & Outdoor Adventure Centre for Children and is a great all weather attraction. It is open all year round but just opens weekends for the winter months.

Some great walks in the region is a walk along the banks of the River Maine and the Kilcummin walk. The Glanageenty walk which takes you along riverbanks and woodlands is great for spotting wildlife and has a variety of trees growing in the dense woodlands. There are wonderful views of Carrantuohill, Ireland's highest mountain, the gap of Dunloe and Mount Brandon on this walk. It also brings you past the ruines of the Desmond Castle.

The town also boasts a golf course which can be played throughout the year. The course is a parkland golf course, built on 200 acres, with modern sand-based greens and tees.