Crag Cave

Useful Information

Location:	1,5 km from Castleisland, Co. Kerry, 85 km from Limerick and 24 km from Killarney. (52°14'50.02"N, 9°26'36.58"W)
Open:	15-MAR to JUN daily 10-18. JUL to AUG daily 10-18:30. SEP to 01-NOV daily 10-18. Last tour 30 min before closing. [2007]
Fee:	Adults GBP 4, Students GBP 3, OAP GBP 3, Family GBP 12, Children (6-18) GBP 2. Group rates available.
Classification:	Karst cave river cave. Carboniferous limestone.
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=3810 m.
Guided tours:	L=380 m, D=30 min.
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Donal O'Connor (1991): Crag Cave, Ireland's most exciting show cave. (booklet)
Address:	Crag Cave, Castleisland, County Kerry, Tel: +353-66-7141244, Fax: +353-66-7142352. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1859	"caves worn by water in the townland of Crag" mentioned by the Geological Survey of Ireland.
1981	first part of the cave discovered by John Gunn and Bridget Scanlon.
1983	first dive by the Welsh cave diver Martyn Farr and discovery of 1670 m of cave.
1984	further 1,178 m discovered and surveyed.
1987	start od development.
20-MAY-1989	opened to the public.

Description

Crag Cave is named after the nearby town Crag. It is one of the longest caves in Ireland, a cave system with two levels, the lower level is a river cave.

The discoverers of Crag Cave were definitly J. R. R. Tolkien fans! They used names from the Lord of the Rings like Minas Tirith, Cirith Ungol, or Balrog's Bathtub.