Anascaul Birth Place Of Tom Crean In The Heart Of The Dingle Peninsula

There is the fact that Anascaul gets its name from the legend of a giant who tried to capture a young girl in the 1st century AD. Her name was Scal, but his attempt failed when a fierce brave warrior, Cuchulainn, came to the rescue.

Cuchulainn and the giant threw boulders at each other and fought for days until eventually Cuchulainn was seriously injured and fell.

Cuchulainn did not die, but Scal thought he had and drowned herself in the lake, which takes its name from her.

The lake is in the north of the village in a wild boulder, strewn gorge. An exquisite lake and fantastic for Fishing surrounded by wild flowers and lake fauna.


Anascaul is a splendid place for walking, in fact you could call it a walkers paradise, hill and dale, sea, river and lake make an ever changing challenge, with the wild flowers of County Kerry blooming everywhere.

To the southwest of the village there are the remains of Minard castle, once a stronghold of the Knights of Kerry, built in the 16th century, when it was the largest fortress on the peninsula, destroyed by Cromwellian troops in 1650.

Anascaul, in its own quiet way, like the famous man himself, is the birthplace of Tom Crean. At the west end of this attractive one street village on the Dingle road, tucked away between the sea and the mountain peaks is “The South Pole Inn”, where Tom Crean retired to after his Antarctic expeditions.

The South Pole Inn is full of Tom Crean memorabilia and you can enjoy a hearty meal, the type of meal that will set you up for the rest of the day, or a trip to the Antarctic, at a very reasonable price too.

Jerome Connor the Internationally renowned sculptor was also one of Anascaul`s famous sons, one of his most impressive pieces is the Lusitania monument in the centre of Cobh, County cork.

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Anascaul Info