Fauna.—Foxes are numerous, and otters and badgers are not uncommon. The alpine hare is very abundant. The red deer inhabits the mountains round Killarney. The golden eagle, once frequently seen in the higher mountain regions, is now rarely met. The sea eagle haunts the lofty marine cliffs, the mountains and the rocky islets. The osprey is occasionally seen, and also the peregrine falcon. The merlin is common. The common owl is indigenous, the long-eared owl resident, and the short-eared owl a regular winter visitor. Rock pigeons breed on the sea-cliffs, and the turtle-dove is an occasional visitant. The great grey seal is found in Brandon and Dingle bays.
Climate and Agriculture.—Owing to the vicinity of the sea and the height of the mountains, the climate is very moist and unsuitable for the growth of cereals, but it is so mild even in winter that arbutus and other trees indigenous to warm climates grow in the open air, and several flowering plants are found which are unknown in England. In the northern parts the land is generally coarse and poor, except in the valleys, where a rich soil has been formed by rocky deposits. In the Old Red Sandstone valleys there are many very fertile regions, and several extensive districts now covered by bog admit of easy reclamation so as to form very fruitful soil, but other tracts of boggy land scarcely promise a profitable return for labour expended on their reclamation. Over one-third of the total area is quite barren. The numbers of live stock of every kind are generally increased or sustained. Dairy-farming is very largely followed. The Kerry breed of cattle—small finely-shaped animals, black or red in colour, with small upturned horns—are famed for the quality both of their flesh and milk, and are in considerable demand for the parks surrounding mansion-houses. The “Dexter,” a cross between the Kerry and an unknown breed, is larger but without its fine qualities. Little regard is paid to the breed of sheep, but those in most common use have been crossed with a merino breed from Spain. Goats share with sheep the sweet pasturage of the higher mountain ridges, while cattle occupy the lower slopes.
Other Industries.—In former times there was a considerable linen trade in Kerry, but this is now nearly extinct, the chief manufacture being that of coarse woollens and linens for home use. At Killarney a variety of articles are made from the wood of the arbutus. A considerable trade in agricultural produce is carried on at Tralee, Dingle and Kenmare, and in slate and stone at Valencia. The deep-sea and coast fisheries are prosperous, and there are many small fishing settlements along the coast, but the centres of the two fishery districts are Valencia and Dingle. Salmon fishing is also an industry, for which the district centres are Kenmare and Killarney.
Communications.—The Great Southern & Western railway almost monopolizes the lines in the county. The principal line traverses the centre of the county, touching Killarney, Tralee and Listowel, and passing ultimately to Limerick. Branches are from Headford to Kenmare; Farranfore to Killorglin, Cahersiveen and Valencia harbour, Tralee to Fenit and to Castlegregory; and the Listowel and Ballybunion railway. All these are lines to the coast. The Tralee and Dingle railway connects these two towns. The only inland branch is from Tralee to Castleisland.
Population and Administration.—The population (179,136 in 1891; 165,726 in 1901) decreases to an extent about equal to the average of the Irish counties, but the emigration returns are among the heaviest. The chief towns are Tralee (the county town, pop. 9867); Killarney (5656), Listowel (3605) and Cahersiveen or Cahirciveen (2013), while Dingle, Kenmare, Killorglin and Castleisland are smaller towns. The county comprises 9 baronies, and contains 85 civil parishes. Assizes are held at Tralee, and quarter sessions at Cahersiveen, Dingle, Kenmare, Killarney, Listowel and Tralee. The headquarters of the constabulary force is at Tralee. Previous to the Union the county returned eight members to the Irish parliament, two for the county, and two for each of the boroughs of Tralee, Dingle and Ardfert. At the Union the number was reduced to three, two for the county and one for the borough of Tralee; but the divisions now number four: north, south, east and west, each returning one member. The county is in the Protestant diocese of Limerick and the Roman Catholic dioceses of Kerry and Limerick.
History.—The county is said to have derived its name from Ciar, who with his tribe, the Ciarraidhe, is stated to have inhabited about the beginning of the Christian era the territory lying between Tralee and the Shannon. That portion lying south of the Maine was at a later period included in the kingdom of Desmond (q.v.). Kerry suffered frequently from invasions of the Danes in the 9th and 10th centuries, until they were finally overthrown at the battle of Clontarf in 1014. In 1172 Dermot MacCarthy, king of Cork and Desmond, made submission to Henry II. on certain conditions, but was nevertheless gradually compelled to retire within the limits of Kerry, which is one of the areas generally considered to have been made shire ground by King John. An English adventurer, Raymond le Gros, received from this MacCarthy a large portion of the county round Lixnaw. In 1579-1580 attempts were made by the Spaniards to invade Ireland, landing at Limerick harbour, near Dingle, and a fortress was erected here, but was destroyed by the English in 1580. The Irish took advantage of the disturbed state of England at the time of the Puritan revolution to attempt the overthrow of the English rule in Kerry, and ultimately obtained possession of Tralee, but in 1652 the rebellion was completely subdued, and a large number of estates were afterwards confiscated.
There are remains of a round tower at Aghadoe, near Killarney, and another, one of the finest and most perfect specimens in Ireland, 92 ft. high, at Rattoe, not far from Ballybunion. On the summit of a hill to the north of Kenmare River is the remarkable stone fortress known as Staigue Fort. There are several stone cells in the principal Skellig island, where penance, involving the scaling of dangerous rocks, was done by pilgrims, and where there were formerly monastic remains which have been swept away by the sea. The principal groups of sepulchral stones are those on the summits of the Tomie Mountains, a remarkable stone fort at Cahersiveen, a circle of stones with cromlech in the parish of Tuosist, and others with inscriptions near Dingle. The remote peninsula west of a line from Dingle to Smerwick harbour is full of remains of various dates. The most notable monastic ruins are those of Innisfallen, founded by St Finian, a disciple of St Columba, and the fine remains of Muckross Abbey, founded by the Franciscans, but there are also monastic remains at Ardfert, Castlemaine, Derrynane, Kilcoleman and O’Dorney. Among ruined churches of interest are those of Aghadoe, Kilcrohane, Lough Currane, Derrynane and Muckross. The cathedral of Ardfert, founded probably in 1253, was partly destroyed during the Cromwellian wars, but was restored in 1831. Some interesting portions remain (see [Tralee]). There is a large number of feudal castles.
KERSAINT, ARMAND GUY SIMON DE COETNEMPREN, Comte de (1742-1793), French sailor and politician, was born at Paris on the 29th of July 1742. He came of an old family, his father, Guy François de Coetnempren, comte de Kersaint, being a distinguished naval officer. He entered the navy in 1755, and in 1757, while serving on his father’s ship, was promoted to the rank of ensign for his bravery in action. By 1782 he was a captain, and in this year took part in an expedition to Guiana. At that time the officers of the French navy were divided into two parties—the reds or nobles, and the blues or roturiers. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Kersaint, in spite of his high birth, took the side of the latter. He adopted the new ideas, and in a pamphlet entitled Le Bon Sens attacked feudal privileges; he also submitted to the Constituent Assembly a scheme for the reorganization of the navy, but it was not accepted. On the 4th of January 1791 Kersaint was appointed administrator of the department of the Seine by the electoral assembly of Paris. He was also elected as a député suppléant to the Legislative Assembly, and was called upon to sit in it in place of a deputy who had resigned. From this time onward his chief aim was the realization of the navy scheme which he had vainly submitted to the Constituent Assembly. He soon saw that this would be impossible unless there were a general reform of all institutions, and therefore gave his support to the policy of the advanced party in the Assembly, denouncing the conduct of Louis XVI., and on the 10th of August 1792 voting in favour of his deposition. Shortly after, he was sent on a mission to the armée du Centre, visiting in this way Soissons, Reims, Sedan and the Ardennes. While thus occupied he was arrested by the municipality of Sedan; he was set free after a few days’ detention. He took an active part in one of the last debates of the Legislative Assembly, in which it was decided to publish a Bulletin officiel, a report continued by the next Assembly, and known by the name of the Bulletin de la Convention Nationale. Kersaint was sent as a deputy to the Convention by the department of Seine-et-Oise in September 1792, and on the 1st of January 1793 was appointed vice-admiral. He continued to devote himself to questions concerning the navy and national defence, prepared a report on the English political system and the navy, and caused a decree to be passed for the formation of a committee of general defence, which after many modifications was to become the famous Committee of Public Safety. He had also had a decree passed concerning the navy on the 11th of January 1793. He had, however, entered the ranks of the Girondins, and had voted in the trial of the king against the death penalty and in favour of the appeal to the people. He resigned his seat in the Convention on the 20th of January. After the death of the king his opposition became more marked; he denounced the September massacres, but when called upon to justify his attitude confined himself to attacking Marat, who was at the time all-powerful. His friends tried in vain to obtain his appointment as minister of the marine; and he failed to obtain even a post as officer. He was arrested on the 23rd of September at Ville d’Avray, near Paris, and taken before the Revolutionary Tribunal, where he was accused of having conspired for the restoration of the monarchy, and of having insulted national representation by resigning his position in the legislature. He was executed on the 4th of December 1793.
His brother, Guy Pierre (1747-1822), also served in the navy, and took part in the American war of independence. He did not accept the principles of the Revolution, but emigrated. He was restored to his rank in the navy in 1803, and died in 1822, after having been préfet maritime of Antwerp, and prefect of the department of Meurthe.