Photo: Valentia Island, County Kerry. Retrieved from irishcentral.com
As the world continues to spin we sincerely hope the beauty and magic of Valentia Island and her enterprising and self-sufficient inhabitants will always remain always the same.
It’s one way of making sure that we’re not over-run with tourists,” a local jokes, in a petrol station outside Cahirsiveen, as he observes me putting air into my car tyres – something I’ve had to do twice since leaving Dublin some five hours earlier.
While his observations on West Kerry’s narrow and dangerously windy roads are light-hearted, there’s a ring of truth in what he says. The majesty of the county – arguably Ireland’s most beautiful, unspoiled region – is saved from mass tourism thanks to their determination not to pander to modernity. And there’s no better example of this than The Kingdom’s crown jewel: Valentia Island.