Killorglin
Perched on a hill above the River Laune where the Ring of Kerry meets the Wild Atlantic Way, Killorglin is one of Kerry's oldest market towns and the traditional starting point for the great scenic loop. It is best known for Puck Fair, an ancient three-day gathering each August that crowns a wild mountain goat king of the town.
Most travellers meet Killorglin as a place they pass through - the last proper town before the Ring of Kerry unspools west along the coast - but it rewards a slower look. The name comes from the Irish Cill Orglan, 'Orgla's church', and people have lived on this bend of the salmon-rich Laune since the Bronze Age; a Norman castle once stood guard over the crossing, and most of the steep, colourful streets you see today took shape in the nineteenth century. The MacGillycuddy's Reeks rise blue and jagged to the south, a reminder that Ireland's highest mountains are only a short drive away.
What sets Killorglin apart is Puck Fair, one of the oldest and strangest festivals in the country. For three days every August the town crowns a wild goat - King Puck, caught on the slopes of the Reeks - and hoists him onto a tall platform above the square to preside over the celebrations. A local schoolgirl, the Queen of Puck, performs the coronation. The fair's origins are lost to time and cheerfully argued over: some trace it to the pre-Christian harvest feast of Lughnasa, others to a much-loved legend in which a goat, scattered by marauding soldiers, bolted into town and so warned the people of danger. Its written charter reaches back some four centuries, though the exact year is disputed. The three days run in sequence - the Gathering, Fair Day, and the Scattering - with a horse fair, a cattle fair, street stalls, music and pubs open late into the night.
Come outside festival week and you'll find an unhurried working town: pubs and cafés, independent shops, a fine riverside setting and a good spread of places to eat before the long drive west. It makes a natural first stop and refuelling point at the head of the loop.
Killorglin sits on the N70/N72, roughly twenty minutes west of Killarney and a similar distance south of Tralee. There's on-street and car-park parking in the centre, though space is tight and restricted during Puck Fair, when the whole town is given over to the goat. Allow half an hour for a wander most of the year - or a full, boisterous evening in August. From here the Ring runs on to Glenbeigh and the sweeping sands of Rossbeigh Beach.
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