Coumeenoole Beach

2.3.18 ~ Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry, Ireland

Visiting Coumeenoole Beach Saturday afternoon was amazing! I was already excited to have learned, the night before as I was browsing online, that parts of the movie Ryan’s Daughter had been filmed on this beach. This brought back to me a distant memory; Ryan’s Daughter was the first R-rated film my parents allowed me to see. And I was in awe of the cinematography.

We stopped first at the top of the bluff to take in the breathtaking scenery from above. You’ll have to forgive me for posting so many pictures! I took hundreds and it was impossible to choose just a few.

Then Tim and Larisa drove down the steep road (see below) from the bluff to the beach. Dima and Katherine decided to walk down the path and stairs and I followed them with the camera.

Oh what a wild and free Atlantic Ocean!

the family looks down to the beach below
father and daughter share a love of adventure
those were some huge waves down there!
almost down to the road
the road from the steps down
look at those tiny people down there!
I finally make my way to the sand
our little explorer
tide is coming in, rather quickly

I learned later that at low tide the beach goes much farther out. The tide continued to come in. I’m not sure how many hours we spent there enjoying all the nooks and crannies in the rocks.

I was concerned that the tide would catch Tim over there
late afternoon sun
Katherine never tired of exploring ~ she has always loved the great outdoors
having people in the pictures helps to get a sense of scale here
I’m pretty sure this was Dima and Katherine’s creation
I took lots of close-ups of the rocks for my sister, the geologist
Larisa and Katherine, still moments by the sea
Dima sets off on his own adventure ~ he disappeared around the corner and I have to admit I was a little concerned for his safety
my darling little Katherine

Even though I loved climbing trees as a child I still cringed when my kids started climbing trees and rocks. I never stopped them but I couldn’t look. After I grew up my mother told me she couldn’t watch my sister and me climb trees either. That feeling rose up again watching some of the rock climbing Larisa and Katherine did. Eventually I turned away… The rocks my kids climbed on at our local beach look pretty tame now after seeing the young ones taking on these rocky cliffs!

tide looks like it might be in

So that ended my picture taking. Well, I also used up both camera batteries. 🙂

I watched Ryan’s Daughter again one afternoon this week. (It’s a very long movie with an intermission.) It was fun recognizing Coumeenoole Beach in parts of the film. The storm scene was shot during an actual storm on this beach. The waves were about 20 feet high. Tim guessed the waves were about 8 feet high the day we were there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjZ2VeaXGgs

What wonderful memories I will cherish of this awesome afternoon by the sea…

10 thoughts on “Coumeenoole Beach”

  1. Hi Barbara. I watched ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ when I was a teenager. I love seeing familiar places in movies. Makes me feel part of the movie! Jane

    1. I know what you mean, Jane! After walking where the movie characters did it was exciting to think about that very beach in the storm…

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