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NORTH KERRY & SOUTH CLARE
What to see, where to go – everything you need to know
 The
stunning South-West
Just 16 miles up the road from Shannon Airport Ennis, like so many towns
in the South-West, is today a thriving tourist destination. But the Clare
capital has been a destination for visitors to our shores for a very long
time.
A Franciscan Friary was founded here in 1242 by Donough O’Brien,
King of Thomond. The ruins today maybe covered in ivy but they stand as
testament to the town’s historical prominence.
Ennis also has strong associations with Daniel O’Connell —
a monument of the Liberator dominates the town centre — appropriately
enough called O’Connell Square. (O’Connell’s election
to Parliament and the subsequent celebrations gave Clare its nickname
The Banner County.)
The ‘modern’ history of Ennis dates back some 400 years to
when it was selected as the administrative centre of the new county of
Clare, and due to its pre-eminence as a busy market town.
Situated in the heart of Clare Ennis offers a fine base to visit the county’s
knock-out scenery. It’s a compact, friendly town, its narrow streets
overflowing with restaurants, shops and bars where an impromptu traditional
session is always likely to break out. As Christy Moore put it: “If
it’s music ye want — sure go to Clare.”
Formalised instruction in the vernacular music is available at the traditional
music centre Glór, which presents concerts, sessions, workshops
and exhibitions. Contact: Glór — Irish Music Centre, Friar’s
Walk, Ennis, Co. Clare. Tel 00 353 65 684 3103; e-mail: info@glor.ie
A recommended craic-laden watering hole is Durty Nellie’s —
first established in 1620 and, say the locals, still as hospitable as
when it first opened for business. Adjacent is the Battle Of Bunratty
Museum, interesting if you’re into matters military rather than
musical.
Aside from music, a walk through the town is a rewarding experience. A
dander along the River Fergus to the Franciscan Friary will bring you
to the McMahon Royal Tomb, fashioned from carved slabs of stone in the
15th century. It’s said to be the finest of its kind in Ireland.
Further up the town stands the De Valera Museum, a beautifully-converted
Presbyterian church. Dev, as you will not need reminding, was the area’s
TD for many years. There’s a statue to the New York-born politician
in the town (in Tim Smythe Park) and the De Valera Library Museum in Harmony
Row houses much memorabilia and historical artifacts.
Other features include Steele’s Rock in the River Fergus, carved
like a lion and commemorating ‘Honest Tom’ Steele, a chum
of Daniel O’Connell.
Accommodation: The four star Woodstock Hotel, set in secluded woodlands
outside Ennis, is offering double rooms (including breakfast) for £149
per room through www.lastminute.com
Claureen Health Farm offers tranquility and restoration with a cleansing
and detoxing diet. Its healthy fare is composed of fresh fruit, vegetables,
salads, home-made soups, pulses and seeds. Claureen also offers a range
of therapies and massages. Tel: 00 353 65 682 8969; e-mail: info@claureen.com
Limerick
This South-Western city that hugs the River Shannon is still capable
of producing a damp chill that slithers into every bone in your body.
In Angela’s Ashes Frank McCourt blamed this very weather for the
pneumonia and consumption that were rampant in his neighbourhood. But
should you be lucky enough to get a few fine days, Limerick can show-off
another side of itself, altogether more uplifting.
Limerick’s traditional description was: “An ancient city,
well studied in the arts of war.”
A melancholy enough statement and one which could be applied to any Irish
city. But Limerick’s position on the River Shannon guaranteed it
was at the centre of Irish affairs for over 1,000 years.
First up the river were the Danes & Co. followed by the Normans in
the 12th and 13th centuries, then a few centuries later by those other
agents of bloodletting in Ireland, Edward The Bruce and Oliver Cromwell.
Although experiencing the full force and range of Ireland’s turbulent
history, three particular episodes are writ large in Limerick’s
folk memory.
The first was the surrender of Patrick Sarsfield in 1691, bringing to
an end the Siege Of Limerick — you can still visit the Treaty Stone
on Thomond Bridge where a concordant (sometimes called an accordion locally)
was signed between Pat and the Williamites.
In 1919 occurred an event which could have had far-reaching consequences
for Limerick and the rest of Europe — but in the end didn’t.
A group of workers set up the independent Republic Of Limerick Soviet
in protest at oppressive British martial law. The workers ruled the city,
produced newspapers, issued their own currency and won global publicity.
Eventually they applied to join the USSR — but the Soviet authorities
never replied to the Limerick workers’ letter and two weeks later
the apparatus of the new state was dismantled.
The Munster city’s other major contribution to world history is,
of course, the invention of the Garryowen — an up-and-under kick
used in rugby and named after a local area.
The Normans made the first imprint on the city to remain today, building
on the work done by sundry other inhabitants — Celts, Gaels and
Vikings. The impressive King John’s Castle (1210) is a shining example
of Anglo-Norman architecture. Boasting an elegant visitor’s centre,
from the ramparts you’ll get terrific views of the Shannon. Tel:
00 353 61 360 788.
King’s Island is also the home of St. Mary’s Cathedral, probably
older than the castle. The nave and parts of the transepts remain from
the 12th century but much of the rest of the building dates from around
300 years later.
The old quays dating back to Viking times have been redeveloped into riverside
restaurants, bistros, craft shops and designer-label outlets.
The Vikings would be more than delighted that their trading instincts
are still to the fore. Arthur’s Quay and Steamboat Quay are the
key to cafés, bars, bistros and shops.
If you really want to get to grips with Limerick life past and present
then check out the Hunt Museum in Limerick University.
This exemplary place starts at the Bronze Age and proceeds onwards. Anyone
thinking of setting up an “interactive visitors’ centre”
should be frog-marched here to learn what’s what.
The Hunt is also a cracking place to have lunch — home-made dishes
are a specialty, although whether they’ll run to packet and tripe
is another matter entirely. This is a favourite Limerick dish consisting
as it does of boiled blood sausages and the lining of cow’s stomach
cooked in milk. It’s not as nice as it sounds. If you’re a
vegetarian you may well be lucky enough to read the traditional sign outside
a pub proclaiming: “The packet and tripe is all run out.”
Frank McCourt’s hugely successful and controversial memoir Angela’s
Ashes has sparked interest in Limerick where the author’s family
and neighbours lived in the 1930s and 1940s.
Several companies operate Angela’s Ashes-themed walking tours.
Churches, schools and pubs that remain from McCourt’s grim portrait
of his Limerick childhood are visited. Most tours begin in Pery’s
Square at People’s Park, a village green adjacent to Windmill Street
where the McCourts’ grandma lived.
The tours also take in St. Vincent de Paul — a charity much-frequented
by many Limerick families in the early decades of the last century —
Leamy’s National School where the McCourt boys began their education,
the Redemptorist Church, St. Joseph’s Church (where Frank collapsed
with typhoid on his First Communion), the Christian Brothers secondary
school and the South pub where Frank enjoyed his first pint. St. Mary’s
Integrated Development Programme organises the highly-recommended Angela’s
Ashes tour (00 353 61 318 106).
Accommodation: The five-star George Boutique Hotel on O’Connell
Street is one of the finest in the country, but don’t expect traditionalism.
The eclectic mix of contemporary style and comfort, allied to a cutting-edge,
cosmopolitan style, will give you a memorable stay in Limerick.
Currently laterooms.com is offering a double room for two people from
£74, breakfast not included.
At the other end of the scale the traditional family-run Woodfield House
Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick en route to Shannon Airport is offering double
rooms from e45 per-night per-room.
Listowel
Listowel or Lios Tuathail (Tuthail’s fort) is famous for its writing
festival, its transport heritage and for the phrase “Your country
needs you”.
To expand on the transport first: Intriguingly, this North Kerry town
was the site of a monorail system known as the Lartigue Railway, the only
enterprise of its kind ever in Ireland or Britain, and one of the first
in the world. This picture-book Victorian steam monorail, the most unlikely
of Ireland’s wildly romantic narrow-gauge lines, ran between Listowel
and Ballybunion.
Although bestowing on Listowel a small part in world railway history and
the Industrial Revolution, the Kerry system managed to keep a rural aspect
to its operations. |
