sneem

a place so beautiful and tranquil that it pierces the very depth of your soul. it is the ultimate in chill and comfort.
peace
sneem (irish: an tsnaidhm) is a town situated on the iveragh peninsula (part of the ring of kerry) in county kerry in the southwest of ireland. it lies on the estuary of the river sneem. national route n70 runs through the town.

the irish name for the town “an tsnaidhm” translates into the english “the knot”. there are several explanations as to why a “knot” would be relevant for this small kerry village. first, and most obviously, the sneem river flows through the village and it is said that a knot-like swirling takes place when the river meets the currents of kenmare bay in the estuary just below the village. sneem village comprises 2 squares, north and south. there is a bridge in the middle of the village which if looked at from an aerial perspective acts as a knot between the two village squares. a less common explanation is that sneem is the knot in the famed ring of kerry scenic tourist drive. in order to complete the ring of kerry one must p-ss through the village of sneem so therefore sneem could be viewed as “the knot”.

a book, sneem the knot in the ring, details the area’s history.
bridge near town square

in march 1978 sneem was the venue for the state funeral for former president cearbhall ó dálaigh who resided in the area prior to his death.

there are a number of common irish names -ssociated with sneem, including sullivan and o’sullivan. because there can be many o’sullivans, locals append words to differentiate between them for example o’sullivan-mountain.

former french president charles de gaulle visited here on numerous occasions and there is a sculpture commemorating this in the village.

the village of sneem is a treasure trove of international sculpture, accessible to all, free of charge, throughout the year. the work of vivienne roche, alan hall, tamara rikman and a panda sculpture donated by the peoples republic of china can be seen in various locations. “the risen christ” by brother joseph mcnally is located in the grounds of st. michael’s church and the goddess isis donated by the people of egypt stands at “the way the fairies went”. “the way the fairies went” is a collection of buildings designed by kerry sculptor james scanlon, and executed by local stoneworkers located overlooking the sneem river near st. michael’s church. it was financed by the arts council of ireland as a result of sneem winning the national tidy towns award in 1987. the entire project was completed in 1989-90. the buildings won the national landscape award in 1997.

the legendary casey family of rowers and wrestlers were all from sneem; the most famous was steve ‘crusher’ casey who emigrated to america in 1936. he was both nwa and awa heavyweight wrestling champion of the world a total of five separate times between 1938 and 1947. on one occasion he held the t-tle for just a few weeks before being defeated. in 1982 he received the irish hall of fame award, presented by olympic gold medallist ronnie delaney. there is a statue commemorating him in the village.

william melville, the first head of the british secret service, was born at nearby direenaclaurig cross.

the gaelic footballer ronan hussey, who was a member of the kerry senior football panel, is a native of sneem and still plays with sneem gaa.

in 2000, a time capsule was buried in the centre of the town. it will be opened in 2100.
i am going to sneem….