What Kerry has given the world...
Kerry natives have made their own inimitable mark on the world. There was the famous explorer Tom Crean, known for his Antarctic exploits with Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton. When his adventuring days were done, Crean returned home and opened a pub, the South Pole Inn in the small village of Annascaul. Kerry was the birthplace of Daniel O’Connell, Ireland’s Great Liberator, as well as Oscar-nominated actor Michael Fassbender (a native of Killarney).
Every December, some of the biggest names in music make the pilgrimage to St Jame's Church to play stripped-back sets at the Other Voices gathering. Amy Winehouse, Mumford and Sons, Hozier, Steve Earle and Snow Patrol have all performed there. You'll find a writers' museum in Listowel that celebrates a place "where it is easier to write than not to write", as Kerry author John B Keane liked to put it. Oh, and the county has dominated Ireland's native sport of Gaelic football, winning too many All-Ireland Gaelic Football championships to mention.
So if you were wondering why this county is known around Ireland as "The Kingdom", maybe now you understand... Kerry is a land of pure majestic beauty.