Ireland Guide
Kerry
Gallarus
Five kilometres east of Ballyferriter, off the R559 towards Murreagh (An Mhuiríoch), the beautiful Gallarus Oratory is Dingle's most compelling historic monument. A 1300-year-old church built entirely of dry gritstone in the shape of an upturned boat, it sits proudly in its field at the very western edge of Europe like a Platonic ideal of architectural purity, still quite intact and unadorned. Its stones, carefully selected and smoothed off inside and out, and gracefully corbelled to form the roof, are now weathered to soft tones of green, brown, purple and orange. It's lit by a single window opposite the doorway, while the only features inside are two large, pierced stones above the lintel which probably served for the attachment of a door. Access to the oratory, which is in state care, is absolutely free, so there's no need at all to pay €3 at the privately run visitor centre, which comprises a gift shop, café and fifteen-minute audiovisual, sitting between the most obvious car park and the church; instead, continue a short way along the hedgerowed lane to a tiny car park which gives direct access to the oratory.
Adjacent to the oratory is the Teach an Aragailcampsite ( 
066/915 5143; April– late Sept), whose owner, TP, also offers Irish cultural activities, including language-learning, music, dancing, archeological tours and walking ( 086 819 1942, 
www.gaeilgebeo.com or www.dingleactivities.com ). Nearby stands Gallarus Castle, an austere but well-preserved fifteenth-century tower house guarding Smerwick Harbour (June– Sept daily 10am–6pm, last admission 5.15pm; free; www.heritageireland.ie ). You can either look around by yourself or take a guided tour of its four extant storeys, which were inhabited by the Fitzgeralds, the lords of West Kerry, until the end of the seventeenth century. The castle, which has limited parking space, is about 300m down a narrow lane to the right off the R559, just beyond the campsite; there's also a direct path from the private car park at the oratory.