Rabach’s Way is a walk that took us to a hidden valley (known as The Pocket) and a ruined village. It was the location of a true story of murder and betrayal.

Cornelius Sullivan Rabach was the last man to be hanged in Kerry in 1831.

The story goes that he murdered a traveller, or a stowaway who jumped ship in Castletown, who came to his house in the remote mountain village. He was seen by a neighbour and when Rabach found out that she had seen the murder he murdered her too.

He was caught, tried and hanged for both murders. The cave he hid in whilst on the run can be seen above the village.

The walk takes between four and five hours. We started at the Sibín Pub which is at the base of the Healy Pass.

We passed Shronebirrane stone circle on the way to the hidden village.

The remoteness of the village is amazing.

They couldn’t even carry a horse and cart in there. We counted 7 houses. The remains of stone walled fields can be seen there and evidence of turf cutting is also visible.

The location was quite spectacular. The mountain sides are quite bleak, there is a waterfall to the rear of the village and the water in the stream was crystal clear. Better than any bottled water you could buy.

We saw a farmer half way up the side of the mountain rounding up sheep with his sheepdog. He must have been there for hours rounding them up because he was there before us and there after we left.

The day was magnificent …. well worth a visit!

(As soon as I sort out how I’ll display photographs on the site I’ll upload them … until them I hope you enjoy the ones on this page!)