A visit to Castlegregory, Co. Kerry in 2016

A slideshow of photos I took during my visit to Castlegregory in County Kerry on Friday 13th May 2016.
Castlegregory (Irish: Caisleán Ghriaire) is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated on the north side of the Dingle Peninsula, halfway between Tralee and Dingle. In the 2016 Census, Castlegregory had a population of 250. In the summer months the population increases with people spending time in their holiday homes and camping and caravan parks.
Castlegregory was named after a castle built by Gregory Hoare in the 16th century. It is the capital of Lettragh, whose population is now a quarter of what it was before the Great Irish Famine, and it remains the only place in the area which resembles a real village.
Castlegregory is located at the foot of a sandy peninsula called the Maharees separating Brandon Bay to the west from Tralee Bay on the east. Off the peninsula are a number small islands, called the Seven Hoggs, or the Maharee Islands. A small fishing harbour is located at Fahamore on Scraggane Bay, about 5 km outside the village at the tip of the Maharees peninsula. The village is surrounded by the mountains of the Dingle peninsula and overlooked directly by Beenoskee and Stradbally Mountains. To the west is Brandon Mountain. Castlegregory is also the name of the parish which includes most of the north east area of the Dingle Peninsula. The village is renowned as a tourist destination as it is near to spectacular beaches located on the Maharees peninsula. There are several mobile home and caravan parks in the vicinity of Castlegregory. Castlegregory Golf and Fishing club, a nine-hole links golf course is also located nearby, to the west of the village on the shores of Lough Gill, a freshwater lake.
On the largest of the Magharee Islands, Illauntannig (Irish Oileán tSeanaigh), the ruins of a 7th-century monastic site founded by St Senach, stand containing: two oratories, three beehive (or Clochan) huts and three examples of a leacht (or altar)
Local Events.
Castlegregory Pattern Day was traditionally celebrated on 15 August, when the tradition is to eat locally-made mutton pies. In recent years it has been expanded into a three-day summer festival.
The Wren's Day on the 26th of December is also celebrated. The traditional straw dresses have given way to pajamas, curtains, Halloween masks, and Christmas decorations, but there is still plenty of traditional Irish music to be heard.
Religion
Castlegregory is a Roman Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Kerry. St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Castlegregory was built in 1831 and was renovated in 2004. Southwest of Castlegregory is the Church of Our Saviour (Church of Ireland) in Killiney. The present day church was built around 1815 and replaced a 13th century structure which has fallen into ruin. Church of Our Saviour is in the Tralee Union of Parishes in the United Diocese of Limerick & Killaloe.
Education
Castlegregory has a primary school and a secondary school.
Meán Scoil Nua an Leith-Triúigh was founded in 1961 by Aidan and Sheila Mulcahy. It was set up as a voluntary secondary school and is under the patronage of Bishop Raymond Browne of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kerry. Prior to the founding of Meán Scoil Nua an Leith-Triúigh, Castlegregory and surrounding areas were a good distance away from secondary schools. It wsnt until 2005 when Meán Scoil Nua an Leith-Triúigh got its present school building in Castlegregory. The school started out in Aidan and Sheila Mulcahy’s home in Cloghane. In the early 1970’s three prefabricated buildings were erected beside their house in Cloghane.
Sport
Castlegregory GAA Club was first known as Castlegregory Allen, named after William Allen, one of the Manchester Martyrs. The club took part in the first Kerry County Championship played in 1889. For well over 40 years football was played on a pitch with a 21 feet gradient from top to bottom, however a new ground was opened on 17 May 2003. Castlegregory were Kerry and Munster Junior Football Champions in 2009 and were All Ireland Junior Football Champions in 2010.
Transport
Castlegregory was the terminus of a branch line of the Tralee and Dingle Light Railway. The railway station opened on 1 April 1891, closed for passenger and goods traffic on 17 April 1939, and finally closed altogether on 10 March 1947. Bus Eireann provides a bus service from Cloghane to Tralee which serves Castlegregory on Fridays.