IRL Day 7 Killarney national park Healy Pass Priest Leap and Mizen Head
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RouteXpert René Plücken (MRA Master)
Last edit: 26-03-2025
Route Summary The routes take you past the most beautiful towns, villages, sights and wonders of nature.
All routes include waypoints for hotels, restaurants and POIs. The population is very friendly and hospitable, in every village there are several pubs and restaurants where you can enjoy the Irish cuisine.
Several (historical) sights are included in the routes and we try to avoid highways.
This itinerary covers the seventh day with a beautiful drive through the Killarney National Park, with Molls Gap, Healy Pass, Priest Leap and a visit to the beautiful Mizen Head signal box.
This route has a 5 star rating.
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Verdict
Duration
10h 23m
Mode of travel
Car or motorcycle
Distance
291.43 km
Countries
RouteXpert Review We drive through Molls Gap in the opposite direction as on the previous days, which gives a completely different view of this beautiful pass. Ladies View is definitely worth a stop again, this time in the morning, so also a different view of the most beautiful view of Ireland.
From Kenmare we drive part of the Ring of Beara (see also day 6) to the town of Lauragh where we take the Healy Pass. The Healy Pass is popular with car and motorcycle riders. This road winds through the mountains of Ireland on the Beara Peninsula and offers pure driving pleasure. The road is officially called R574 and runs from the town of Lauragh to Adrigole in County Cork. The name Healy Pass comes from Timothy Michael Healy, who was the first Governor-General of the Irish Free State after Ireland became independent in 1921. He died in 1931, just after the road was renovated. As a tribute, the road was named after him.
After the Healy Pass we follow the coastline to Glengarriff a typical small Irish village in Cork County. We follow the N71 north to Bunane where we follow the signs to Priest's Leap. Priest's Leap is a very winding, narrow and steep mountain pass, consisting of two sometimes unsealed tracks. This road is considered by many to be one of the scariest roads in Ireland and is definitely not for the inexperienced or faint-hearted. So if you are not sure of yourself stay on the N71 and follow the signs to Bantry from Glengarriff.
On your way to Priest's Leap stop at Molly Gallivan's 200 year old Cottage & Traditional Farmhouse, a family run visitor centre. At Molly Gallivan's you will experience the simple lifestyle of rural Ireland before the days of electricity and modern conveniences. Her farm is complete with animals, poultry and traditional farm machinery. On the farm you will also visit the haunting ruins of a family home from the time of the Great Famine and a Neolithic stone row that is part of an ancient solar calendar. Experience 5,000 years of history on a 500 metre walk.
Then the drive over Priest's Leap, a steep and almost single track mountain pass between the villages of Bonane and Coomhola Bridge. It is a winding mountain pass that is not for the faint of heart and as mentioned before is considered by many to be one of the scariest roads in Ireland. It is the highest pass road in Munster at 463m.
The road over Priest's Leap is very narrow, partly on a dirt road with a green strip in the middle and a very steep section north of the summit. There are a few passing places and if there is oncoming traffic you may need to reverse. Priest's Leap is situated in a beautiful, open hilly landscape. The view from the top of the pass is simply breathtaking. Just google it and read the reviews about this stretch of road; you either love it or hate it!
In 1972, the community of Bantry erected a plaque on the rock to commemorate a sacred event. According to legend, a priest was visiting a sick person in the area when Catholicism was banned during the penal period by the British occupiers of Ireland. As pursuing soldiers approached, the priest escaped when his horse made a miraculous leap from the top of the mountain and landed safely near the town of Bantry. At the jump, a rock face left by the horse's hoof print, made by the force of the ascent, can be seen on a rock face. To ensure a safe landing for horse and rider, the rock face they were descending from was turned into soft clay. The prints of the horse's head and knees and the priest's fingers can still be seen on it to this day.
We stop in Bantry, a pretty village with nice pubs and restaurant so ideal to take a break. After Bantry you follow the R591 along the coast with beautiful views over the bay and the peninsulas to Mizen Head.
Mizen Head is a signal post with great views of the rocky coast. You have to walk a bit from the car park. A footbridge takes you to the headland where the signal post is. This is a tourist attraction so it can be busy.
Mizen Head stretches out into the churning Atlantic Ocean, between sea cliffs and crashing waves. But in testament to man’s tenacity, Mizen Head Signal Station has stood strong amidst the forces of nature for over 100 years.
This station was built to warn ships of the treacherous rocks that lie close to the coast here. An award-winning maritime museum has been built near the signal station in honour of the heroic past as a lifesaver at sea.
Perched high on a cliff, the Mizen Head Visitor Centre is a beacon in the darkness. Inside you’ll find exhibits and maritime artefacts including an automatic weather station, a model of Fastnet Rock Lighthouse and a navigation aid simulator, plus a fantastic photographic record of all the wildlife you can find on Mizen Head.
From Mizen Head it continues along the coast through several small villages to Kinsale. Take time to stop along the way and enjoy the views. Visit the West Cork Model Railway Village. The model village is a fully scaled hand-built model of the historic West Cork Railway Line with fully working miniature trains and the towns the railway served in the 1940s.
Kinsale is a pretty town with many hotels, pubs and restaurants on the Bandon River, so a great place to stay.
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Changes may nevertheless have occurred due to changed circumstances, road diversions or seasonal closures. We therefore recommend checking each route before use.
Preferably use the route track in your navigation system. More information about the use of MyRoute-app can be found on the website under 'Community' or 'Academy'.
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Munster
About this region
Munster (Irish: an Mhumhain [ə ˈwuːnʲ] or Cúige Mumhan [ˌkuːɟə ˈmˠuːnˠ]) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (Irish: rí ruirech). Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has seen further sub-division of the historic counties.
Munster has no official function for local government purposes. For the purposes of the ISO, the province is listed as one of the provincial sub-divisions of the State (ISO 3166-2:IE) and coded as "IE-M". Geographically, Munster covers a total area of 24,675 km2 (9,527 sq mi) and has a population of 1,280,020, with the most populated city being Cork. Other significant urban centres in the province include Limerick and Waterford.
Read more on Wikipedia
Munster has no official function for local government purposes. For the purposes of the ISO, the province is listed as one of the provincial sub-divisions of the State (ISO 3166-2:IE) and coded as "IE-M". Geographically, Munster covers a total area of 24,675 km2 (9,527 sq mi) and has a population of 1,280,020, with the most populated city being Cork. Other significant urban centres in the province include Limerick and Waterford.
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Route Collections in this region Complete tour of Ireland
Ireland is a beautiful country to drive. This collection contains 10 connecting routes that take you past the most beautiful, cities, villages, sights and wonders of nature.
All routes include reviews, route points for hotels, restaurants and POI.
The Irish population is very friendly and hospitable, in every village there are several pubs and restaurants where you can enjoy Irish cuisine.
There are several (historical) sights included in the routes, here is a summary overview per route, in the reviews of the routes you will find more details.
IRL1; Belvedere House & Garden Parks, Charleville Castle and the Ruins of Clonmacnoise
IRL2; Sky Road, Connemara Natural Park and Kylemoore Abbey.
IRL3; The Burren, the peninsulas Lettermore, Tiermee and Teach Mor, Blackhead and the Cliffs of Moher.
IRL4; Bunratty Castle, Folk Park and King Johns Castle.
IRL5; Ring of Kerry and Skellig Ring, this is without a doubt the most beautiful part of the Ring of Kerry. With a beautiful view of Little Skellig and Skellig Michael, the islands where the latest Star Wars film was shot.
IRL6; Ring of Beare, Glenngariff Woods Nature Reserve and one of the most beautiful panoramas in Ireland: "Ladies View".
IRL7; Killarney National Park with Molls Gap, Ladies View, the Healy Pass and Priest's Leap (very narrow winding route with partly very bad road surface) and Mizen Head.
IRL8; Blarney Castle, Cahir Castle, Killkenny Castle and Saint Canice's Cathedral.
IRL9; Dunmore Caves, SS Dunbrody Irish Emigrants ship, the ruins of Dunbrody Abbey and Garden and Kilkenny Castle.
IRL10; the ruins of the Black Castle, The Altamont Gardens, Powerscourt Gardens and Waterfall and St. Patricks Cathedral.
The routes are mainly country roads, often with beautiful curves, but sometimes very narrow or of poor quality. Driving experience is required, partly because of driving on the left side of the road.
You drive through nature parks and pass such as the Healy Pass, Conner Pass, Priest's Leap and Molls Gap. Two beautiful routes are the famous Ring of Kerry (IRL5) and Ring of Beare (IRL6). These are long journeys with many beautiful things along the way, so staying overnight while on the road is highly recommended. It can also be very busy on these routes in the weekends.
The other two routes in this collection is The Wild Atlantic Way from North-South and from South to North. This route is a sensational journey past towering cliffs and lively villages and towns, past hidden beaches and beautiful bays. This route follows the West Coast and you do multiple places from the other routes. The review of the route contains more details and for even more information I refer to https://www.wildatlanticway.com/home
All routes in this collection are all beautiful and challenging and can be driven by car or motorcycle.
Have fun with these routes.
All routes include reviews, route points for hotels, restaurants and POI.
The Irish population is very friendly and hospitable, in every village there are several pubs and restaurants where you can enjoy Irish cuisine.
There are several (historical) sights included in the routes, here is a summary overview per route, in the reviews of the routes you will find more details.
IRL1; Belvedere House & Garden Parks, Charleville Castle and the Ruins of Clonmacnoise
IRL2; Sky Road, Connemara Natural Park and Kylemoore Abbey.
IRL3; The Burren, the peninsulas Lettermore, Tiermee and Teach Mor, Blackhead and the Cliffs of Moher.
IRL4; Bunratty Castle, Folk Park and King Johns Castle.
IRL5; Ring of Kerry and Skellig Ring, this is without a doubt the most beautiful part of the Ring of Kerry. With a beautiful view of Little Skellig and Skellig Michael, the islands where the latest Star Wars film was shot.
IRL6; Ring of Beare, Glenngariff Woods Nature Reserve and one of the most beautiful panoramas in Ireland: "Ladies View".
IRL7; Killarney National Park with Molls Gap, Ladies View, the Healy Pass and Priest's Leap (very narrow winding route with partly very bad road surface) and Mizen Head.
IRL8; Blarney Castle, Cahir Castle, Killkenny Castle and Saint Canice's Cathedral.
IRL9; Dunmore Caves, SS Dunbrody Irish Emigrants ship, the ruins of Dunbrody Abbey and Garden and Kilkenny Castle.
IRL10; the ruins of the Black Castle, The Altamont Gardens, Powerscourt Gardens and Waterfall and St. Patricks Cathedral.
The routes are mainly country roads, often with beautiful curves, but sometimes very narrow or of poor quality. Driving experience is required, partly because of driving on the left side of the road.
You drive through nature parks and pass such as the Healy Pass, Conner Pass, Priest's Leap and Molls Gap. Two beautiful routes are the famous Ring of Kerry (IRL5) and Ring of Beare (IRL6). These are long journeys with many beautiful things along the way, so staying overnight while on the road is highly recommended. It can also be very busy on these routes in the weekends.
The other two routes in this collection is The Wild Atlantic Way from North-South and from South to North. This route is a sensational journey past towering cliffs and lively villages and towns, past hidden beaches and beautiful bays. This route follows the West Coast and you do multiple places from the other routes. The review of the route contains more details and for even more information I refer to https://www.wildatlanticway.com/home
All routes in this collection are all beautiful and challenging and can be driven by car or motorcycle.
Have fun with these routes.
View Route Collection
7 Beautiful Routes Through Ireland
"7 beautiful routes through Ireland"
You may have seen one of these routes before. There are seven routes driven and created in 2024. The routes are part of a 7-day trip through Ireland. You drive through landscapes that are very diverse. Especially the roads along the coast are breathtaking.
The roads are from reasonable to good, but you also drive on roads that are less maintained and there can be some gravel on the roads here and there. Also, grass often grows in the middle of the roads, so caution is required.
These are generally beautiful routes through a beautiful country. The routes are connecting and go along the west coast. The route starts in Belfast and ends in Rosslare.
The collection contains the following routes:
Day 1 Belfast to Carrick on Shannon via Enniskillen Castle (265 Km)
Day 2 from Carrick on Shannon to Cleggan towards the Wild Atlantic Way (216 Km)
Day 3 from Cleggan to Shannon via The Cliffs of Moher (254 Km)
Day 4 from Shannon to Waterville via the Kerry Cliffs (304 Km)
Day 5 Waterville to Inchigeelagh via Dursey Island Cableway (256 Km)
Day 6 of Inchigeelagh via Mizen Head Tour (214 Km)
Day 7 Inchigeelagh to Rosslare via Hookhead Lighthouse (307 Km)
All routes have been checked and made equal for Tomtom, Garmin, open streetmaps and MyRoute-App Navigation. The routes follow the original route as it was made at the time.
Have fun driving one of these routes. Enjoy all the beauty that Ireland has to offer.
You may have seen one of these routes before. There are seven routes driven and created in 2024. The routes are part of a 7-day trip through Ireland. You drive through landscapes that are very diverse. Especially the roads along the coast are breathtaking.
The roads are from reasonable to good, but you also drive on roads that are less maintained and there can be some gravel on the roads here and there. Also, grass often grows in the middle of the roads, so caution is required.
These are generally beautiful routes through a beautiful country. The routes are connecting and go along the west coast. The route starts in Belfast and ends in Rosslare.
The collection contains the following routes:
Day 1 Belfast to Carrick on Shannon via Enniskillen Castle (265 Km)
Day 2 from Carrick on Shannon to Cleggan towards the Wild Atlantic Way (216 Km)
Day 3 from Cleggan to Shannon via The Cliffs of Moher (254 Km)
Day 4 from Shannon to Waterville via the Kerry Cliffs (304 Km)
Day 5 Waterville to Inchigeelagh via Dursey Island Cableway (256 Km)
Day 6 of Inchigeelagh via Mizen Head Tour (214 Km)
Day 7 Inchigeelagh to Rosslare via Hookhead Lighthouse (307 Km)
All routes have been checked and made equal for Tomtom, Garmin, open streetmaps and MyRoute-App Navigation. The routes follow the original route as it was made at the time.
Have fun driving one of these routes. Enjoy all the beauty that Ireland has to offer.
View Route Collection