INTRODUCTION. xix 
Dr. Joyce in his Irish Names of Places, derives the name of 
this county from the Gaelic “‘ Ciarraide ””—the race of Ciar. 
The title was originally applied only to the district lying 
between Tralee, Abbeyfeale and the Shannon then in their 
possession, but was afterwards extended to the whole county. 
Coast Linz.—The coast is deeply indented by numerous 
bays, estuaries and inlets, the most important being Kenmare 
Bay or River, Ballinskelligs Bay, Valencia Harbour, Dingle 
Bay and its prolongation Castlemaine Harbour, Brandon and 
Tralee Bays, and the estuary of the Shannon. Some of these 
are of great extent, running a course of many miles into the 
heart of the county ; Kenmare Bay, for instance, attains a 
length of 28 miles, while Dingle Bay, with its continuation 
Castlemaine Harbour, extends inland for fully 30 miles. 
These bays divide the county into several irregular promon- 
tories, the most pronounced of these being the Dingle peninsula 
to which especially Camden’s quaint description of this county 
most aptly applies, ‘‘ the county of Kerry shoots forth like a 
little tongue with the sea roaring on both sides of it.” Owing 
to the number and depth of these bays and inlets, the coast 
line of Kerry reaches a length of fully 350 miles, a total not 
exceeded by any other county in Ireland. 
The nature of the coast line is very varied, cliffs, sandy and 
boulder-strewn beaches, sand dunes and slob-land appearing 
in frequent alternation. The finest sea cliffs occur to the 
north-west of the Dingle peninsula where they rise almost 
sheer to 1,238 feet in Beenaman. Here, too, at little more 
than a mile and a half from the coast, the mountain mass of 
of Brandon reaches to 3,127 feet, while at Masatiompan it 
attains to 2,509 feet at half a mile inland. To the south of 
Dingle Bay the coast rises to over 900 feet at Bolus Head and 
Doulus Head, and to about 600 feet in the fine cliffs at Bray 
Head, Valencia Island. 
Sand dunes are found at intervals nearly all round the Kerry 
coast. Some of these are of great extent, the largest being those 
dividing Dingle Bay from Castlemaine Harbour, the Castle- 
gregory sandhills on the north side of the Dingle peninsula, 
and the six mile stretch of dunes running from near Barrow 
Harbour to Ballyheige ; all these attain an elevation of about 
90 feet. Slob-lands and salt marshes are also fairly numerous 
although rarely of any great extent, the largest being found 
about Castlemaine Harbour, Tralee Bay and along the Shan- 
non estuary. 
Isuanps.—Although the islands scattered round the Kerry 
coast are rather numerous, very few of them attain te any 
