Off the beaten path.  That is exactly how I would describe the last two days in Ireland.  Mizen Head, Sheep’s Head, and the Beara Peninsula are three of the lesser-traveled peninsulas in southern Ireland.  The tour buses can’t easily get to many of the places in these areas, so there are far fewer people.  Just my type of day!  I stopped at Muckross Abbey in Killarney before heading to the Beara Peninsula.  I plan to spend the day in Killarney National Park on Friday, but the Abbey is a short walk from the main road and I decided to check it out.  I was there before 9AM and had the place almost to myself.  The friary dates to 1445 and is well preserved.  I can’t say that my visit turned me into a history buff, but I wandered around in awe of the building and tried to imagine the friars who lived there walking through these same doorways and arches. You can actually climb the winding stone staircases up into the tower and around the vaulted cloister.

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