Asdee, translated from Easa Duibhe meaning “black waterfall”, is a small village along the Shannon Estuary in North Kerry.
The Shannon Way Trail passes through Asdee, giving a beautiful view over the estuary, while the lovely Littor Strand is one of only five Green Coast beaches in Kerry. You can also keep an eye out for the resident population of bottle-nosed dolphins and migrant waders.
The village is best known for its association with Jesse James, whose ancestor lived in Asdee, having moved from the UK, before migrating to the United States in the mid-17th century.
At the turn of the 12th century, the O’Connors, Kings of Kerry, moved from what is now Ballybunion to near where Asdee village is now situated. The move was to facilitate an alliance between the O’Connors and the O’Briens, the Kings of Thomond.
The calmer waters around Easa Duibhe allowed the O’Connors a safer passage across the Shannon Estuary to the O’Brien stronghold of what is now county Clare.
By 1146, the O’Connors had built a castle in Asdee to consolidate their power and the area became known as Caisleán Easa Duibhe, meaning ‘Castle of the Black Waterfall’.
Three kingships ruled from Caisleán Easa Duibhe before the O’Connors moved to nearby Carrigafoyle Castle as a result of a marriage arrangement at the end of the 12th century.
The castle in Asdee fell into disrepair, with some of the stone from the castle eventually being used in the building of the three bungalows beside the church in the village.
The black waterfall was quarried by the British prior to the mid-18th century, leaving a smaller version of the original waterfall remaining a short distance upstream.
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