Private driver Shannon

The Gap of Dunloe

Once again i start by apologising for my lack of post but i have been really busy and just did not have the time. I suppose i cannot complain with the way the recession has hit tourism in general and i am grateful for the business i am getting. The weather has been really good and already our Summer is way ahead of last year, which was a terrible year weatherwise.
I was on my way back from Tralee the other night with the couple who were touring with me. They had been to Clan Lir, a show in Siamsa Tire theatre in Tralee. They had really enjoyed this wonderful production and our drive from Tralee to Killarney, where we were staying, was most pleasant as the night was warm and calm and the sky was bright with a million stars. The Macgillacuddy Reek mountains were highlighted by the night sky and Kathleen asked me if the break in the mountains was the famous Gap of Dunloe, which it actually was. I confirmed this, and then i thought.... what a lovely place that would be to visit on a night like this. I told them that i had a little treat in store for them, and without them having the slightest idea of where i was bringing them, i made for the Gap of Dunloe. The road that takes you through the mountains all the way to the top at Moll's Gap is nothing more than a track and is a dangerous journey even in daylight, but what a magical journey it is. Once they found themselves entering the mountains their excitement was great and what a treat we all had to enjoy. I have been through the gap many times but never before at night and it was like entering a different world. The mountains were majestic against the night sky and the shimmering lakes and gigantic ice-age rocks all along the roadside were a awesome sight. As we reached the top at the Gap the views left me feeling as though i was having an astronauts view of the valleys below and we stopped and stood in the cool night air and took it all in. There was no hurry on us as we continued on to Moll's Gap and then our descent back down to Ladies View was a new experience fo me. We stopped and stood where Queen Victoria once stood and declared the view to be the finest in the Kingdom. Well looking down along the lakes all the way to the lights of Killarney below was something she had never seen, but one i am sure would have taken her breath away, just as it did ours. The rest of the ride back into Killarney just left us all singing the praises of this wonderful place.
I know that Kathleen and her son will never forget this night in the mountains of Kerry but i would caution anybody who might have an urge to repeat this themselves and attempt to drive there either by day or night.....maybe you should get someone like me to take you there.