Monday 5 June 2023--Remember the Siege of Smerwick (and subsequent massacre) that I mentioned a few days back? We're off to Smerwick Harbour today. It's a nicely-sheltered bay just north of Ballyferriter, ringed by a number of stretches of beach. There's a hamlet called Wine Strand, named for the beach, although it's a bit unclear to me which of the beaches bears the name--maybe all of them, together. Google maps pins the moniker on the smallest pocket of sand, close by the settlement. Whatever the case, the name comes from the casks of wine that drifted up four centuries ago, supposedly from the Spanish Armada. 28 ships of that ill-fated fleet wrecked on the shores of western Scotland and Ireland, most on the latter.

There's a small point of land west of the small beach, with a trail around. We have a view across the water to the village of Ballydavid. The sites of Reask, Gallarus, and Kilmalkedar are all just inland from the bay. On a knoll at the center of the headland are two standing stones. They don't appear in any of the usual online sources for ancient megaliths, nor are they visible in a Street View from 2009. As well, they are free of lichen or other signs of weathering. I'm thinking they are modern erections, although I can't guess who put them up, or why. The knoll is surrounded by fence, so we can't approach them.

We drive to Dunquin for a pint at Kruger's, and then return to Dingle.