Ard na Caithne
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Ard na Caithne Smerwick |
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| Town | |
 Ard na Caithne
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| Coordinates: 52°11′17″N 10°25′14″W / 52.188141°N 10.420532°WCoordinates: 52°11′17″N 10°25′14″W / 52.188141°N 10.420532°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Kerry |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | Q347072 |
Ard na Caithne (Irish pronunciation: [ˈaːɾˠd̪ˠ nˠə ˈkanʲə]), meaning height of the arbutus or strawberry tree, formerly known as Smerwick in English, in the heart of the Kerry Gaeltacht, is one of the principal bays of Corca Dhuibhne. It is nestled at the foot of An Triúr Deirfiúr and Cnoc Bhréanainn, which at 952 metres (3,123 ft) is the highest mountain in the Brandon group. Bounded by the villages of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Baile na nGall and Ard na Caithne itself, the area is what has been known as the Fíor-Ghaeltacht, or true Gaeltacht, in recent decades.
Ard na Caithne (old anglicised form Ardnaconnia) was also known in Irish as Iorras Tuaiscirt ("north peninsula") and Gall-Iorras ("peninsula of the strangers").
Ard na Caithne has a significant place in both the history of south-west Munster and Ireland. The early Christian Gallarus Oratory and Mainistir Riaisc monastic site nearby are central archeological and tourist attractions.
James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald landed a small Papal invasion force in July 1579, initiating the second Desmond rebellion, but was killed a month later. On 10 September 1580, a force of Italian and Spanish papal troops combined with both Irish and English forces numbering over 600 commanded by Sebastiano di San Giuseppi landed to support the rebellion carrying a banner blessed by the Pope bearing the coat of arms of Fitzmaurice and occupied Dún an Óir ('Fort of the Gold'), an Iron age Promontory fort located near the harbour.
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Wikipedia