Ennis and Bantry

Ennis is just another form of Inis which means island. This prefix can be found in place names all over Ireland, for example Innisfree. As you may recall I skipped this town the first time going south in favour of Tralee because it was a little out of the way. So I was just tying up one loose end.

This is the fountain in the centre of town depicting a couple of farmers, a cow, and a dog.

The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

You might be wondering about my strange driving itinerary, starting in Limerick, going south, working my way up north, then heading south past Killarney to Bantry and eventually Cork. It was partly influenced by the day of the week when I would be somewhere, availability of accommodation, the need to do laundry after 10 days or so, and other factors I forget now. Fortunately Ireland is not a large island. You could drive from the north to the south in 4 hours on the motorways; it's the country roads that slow one down, but the best scenery are definitely not along motorways.

Ennis' central street is narrow but has character.

It was Sunday so fairly deserted.

The cathedral in the distance.

I had a cup of tea in a cafe that was open on Sunday. After that it was an uneventful drive down south.

I did make one stop in Charleville, just inside County Cork, for lunch. There was very little choice of eateries. It's a sleepy country town serving the agricultural sector with no tourist sights. I gave up and got a burger at Supermacs, one of the major chains in Ireland. It was tasty enough for the hamburger genre.

The route to Bantry involved many country roads and to get there I was used as a guinea pig again by Google Maps. I finally checked in at my B&B and drove into town to get takeaway pizza to eat in the B&B's kitchenette. But first I had a look around the harbour before placing my order. This is the statue of St. Brendan the navigator in the town square.

The Bantry Church of Ireland to one side of the square.

I think the pizzeria was one of these restaurants at this corner of the square.

New Street, one of the roads exiting the square.

The tavern closer up.

I hope they are tasty at least.

An anchor from the French armada force of 1796 discovered in Bantry Bay in 1980.

The small Stella Cinema.

Bantry seemed to be living up to its reputation of being a neat town.

Colourful buildings on one side of the harbour.

Looking back from the harbour.

Mná is Gaelic for women. If I'm correct, the other side should have fir.

Panoramas with varying distortion: