What Is the Ring of Beara?
The Ring of Beara is a 137 km scenic driving route around the Beara Peninsula in southwest Ireland, straddling County Kerry and County Cork. It is far quieter than the Ring of Kerry. Key features include Dursey Island (Ireland's only cable car, opened 1969), the Healy Pass (334 meters, built during the 1847 Famine as a public works project), Allihies copper mines (operating 1812 to early 1900s), and Castletownbere (major whitefish port).
The Ring of Beara is the road less traveled. While the Ring of Kerry draws most of the tour buses, the Beara Peninsula, wedged between Kenmare Bay and Bantry Bay, remains comparatively empty. The driving route loops 137 km around a peninsula that feels closer to the Irish landscape of a century ago than almost anywhere else on the coast.
The peninsula straddles two counties: Kerry to the north and Cork to the south, with the Caha Mountains forming the spine between them. The roads are narrower, the villages smaller, and the pace slower than on the more famous Kerry route. Tour buses rarely attempt the narrowest sections, which means that for most of the year, you share the road primarily with local traffic, sheep, and the occasional farmer moving cattle.
The Beara is a working landscape. Fishing boats still operate from Castletownbere, one of Ireland's largest whitefish ports. Farmers raise stock on the mountainsides. And the ruins of the 19th-century copper mining industry at Allihies sit alongside a coast that has changed little in centuries.
What makes the Ring of Beara essential for heritage travelers is its combination of wild scenery and deep history. Derreenacullig stone circle, the Dzogchen Beara Buddhist retreat on the cliff edge, the Allihies copper mines (operating from 1812 to the early 20th century), and Dursey Island (accessible only by Ireland's only cable car) create a route that rewards slow exploration.
The Stops Along the Ring of Beara
The route is described clockwise from Kenmare. Driving times are between consecutive stops.
H3: 1. Kenmare, County Kerry
The gateway town to the Beara Peninsula (and also the Ring of Kerry). Kenmare is a colorful town at the head of Kenmare Bay, founded as a planned estate town by the Marquis of Lansdowne. It is known for fine dining, craft shops, and the Kenmare Lace and Design Centre, which preserves the tradition of needlepoint lace developed by nuns during the Great Famine. The Kenmare Stone Circle (the largest in southwest Ireland, with 15 stones) is a short walk from the town center.
Starting point.
H3: 2. Lauragh and the Healy Pass
The Healy Pass is one of the most dramatic mountain roads in Ireland. It winds through the Caha Mountains, climbing to 334 meters with sharp hairpin bends and views that extend across Bantry Bay to the south and Kenmare Bay to the north. The pass was built in 1847 as a Famine relief public works project and named after Timothy Michael Healy, the Bantry-born politician who became the first Governor-General of the Irish Free State.
Drive from Kenmare: Approximately 30 minutes to the pass (25 km).
H3: 3. Castletownbere
The main town on the peninsula and one of Ireland's largest whitefish ports. The harbor is protected by Bere Island (accessible by ferry), which was a British naval base until 1938. Dunboy Castle, the ruined O'Sullivan Bere stronghold, sits just outside town. The town has a working, unpretentious character that contrasts with the tourist-oriented towns elsewhere on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Drive from Healy Pass: Approximately 30 minutes (25 km).
H3: 4. Allihies Copper Mines
Copper mining began at Allihies in 1812 under local landlord John Puxley and peaked in the mid-19th century, employing over 1,500 people. Cornish miners were brought over to work the deeper shafts, and the remains of their Cornish engine houses still stand on the hillside, giving the landscape an industrial archaeology dimension unique on the Irish coast.
The Allihies Copper Mine Museum (housed in a renovated 1845 Methodist church built for the Cornish miners) tells the story. Ballydonegan Beach nearby has distinctive white sand created from quartz waste washed down from the mine dressing process.
Drive from Castletownbere: Approximately 20 minutes (15 km).
H3: 5. Dursey Island and Cable Car
Dursey Island sits at the southwestern tip of the peninsula, separated from the mainland by Dursey Sound. The only way to reach it is by cable car, Ireland's only cable car and the only one in Europe that crosses open seawater. Opened in 1969, it originally served the island's farming community and could carry livestock as well as passengers. The crossing takes 7-8 minutes and carries six passengers at a time.
Dursey has very few permanent residents and no shops, pubs, or restaurants. The island is a haven for walkers and birdwatchers. The Beara Way walking trail includes a section on Dursey.
Drive from Allihies: Approximately 20 minutes (15 km).
H3: 6. Eyeries and the Beara Coast Road
Eyeries is one of the most colorful villages in Ireland, its houses painted in vivid shades of orange, pink, blue, and yellow. The coast road between Eyeries and Ardgroom passes through landscape that is empty and dramatic: mountain on one side, sea on the other, and very few other vehicles.
Drive from Dursey: Approximately 20 minutes (15 km).
H3: 7. Glengarriff and Garnish Island (Ilnacullin)
Glengarriff sits at the head of Bantry Bay, surrounded by ancient oak woodland. Garnish Island (Ilnacullin), reached by a short ferry, is a landscaped island garden designed in Italian and Japanese styles by Harold Peto in the early 1900s. Seals regularly sit on the rocks in Glengarriff Harbor.
Drive from Eyeries: Approximately 40 minutes (30 km).
Driving the Ring of Beara: What You Need to Know
The Ring of Beara is 137 km, taking 3-4 hours to drive without stops or 1-2 full days with exploration. Start at Kenmare or Glengarriff. Roads are narrower than the Ring of Kerry, with no tour buses on the tightest sections. The Dursey Island cable car operates daily but is weather-dependent. The Healy Pass requires confident driving due to hairpin bends.
The Ring of Beara requires different driving skills from the Ring of Kerry.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Total length | 137 km (some sources say up to 148 km with detours) |
| Driving time (no stops) | 3-4 hours |
| Recommended duration | 1-2 full days |
| Starting point | Kenmare (Kerry side) or Glengarriff (Cork side) |
| Best direction | Clockwise from Kenmare puts the sea on your left. |
| Road conditions | Narrower and more winding than the Ring of Kerry. No tour buses on the tightest sections. A small car is easier. |
| Dursey cable car | Operates daily but weather-dependent. First-come, first-served. Closed in high winds. Check schedule. |
| Healy Pass | Not suitable for nervous drivers. Take it slow and pull over. |
| Best season | May to September for the longest days. Quiet even in peak summer. |
The Beara Peninsula and Irish Heritage
The Beara is where the old Ireland survives.
Stone circles, standing stones, and wedge tombs dot the peninsula. The landscape is full of markers from Bronze Age communities who lived here 3,000-4,000 years ago. The Derreenacullig stone circle and the Ardgroom stone circle are among the most atmospheric in a county known for its stone circles.
The O'Sullivan Bere clan held this peninsula for centuries. After the defeat at Dunboy Castle in 1602, Donal Cam O'Sullivan Bere led the famous "March of O'Sullivan Bere," walking 500 km in winter from the Beara to Leitrim with a thousand followers. It is one of the great stories of Irish resistance. Only 35 of the original group survived the journey.
The Beara also connects to the story of Irish emigration. The copper miners at Allihies, when the mines declined, emigrated in large numbers to the copper mines of Butte, Montana, carrying their skills and culture across the Atlantic.
Explore Irish Heritage Jewelry →
Explore More Heritage Trails
- Ring of Kerry: The famous 179 km loop around the neighboring Iveragh Peninsula
- Wild Atlantic Way: The Ring of Beara forms a section of Ireland's western coast route
- National Famine Way: The Healy Pass was built as a Famine relief project in 1847
- Celtic Monastery Trail: Skellig Michael lies off the coast just north of the Beara