Useful Clare Links & Things to Do

Secret Ireland: Lough Derg

By Pol O Conghaile
Irish Independent


Saturday October 01 2011

Pól Ó Conghaile revisits a childhood haunt and gets a taste of Florida on our largest lake.


The Lough Derg Way

You don't have to get into or even on to the water to enjoy Lough Derg. Far from it.

A 117km scenic drive -- or cycle if you're feeling frisky -- circuits the lake, and hikers can tackle the Lough Derg Way, a 58km waymarked way from Limerick to Dromineer via Killaloe.

I take on a stretch of the latter, starting from the arched bridge crossing the border between Clare and Tipperary, before winding up into the Arra Mountains.

Splashes of purple heather and orange crocosmia look like Jackson Pollock has been let loose on the ditches, and boggy bohareens lead to sensational views from Tountinna. From here, you can descend to the lakeshore at Castletown.

If you fancy walking with a group, the East Clare Walking Festival runs from October 21-23.

If you don't fancy walking at all, The Lookout near Portroe offers the panorama without the pain.

Details: Tel: 087 686 7548; eastclarewalkingfestival.com.

The Holy Island

When St Colum Mac Cremthainn first came to Inis Cealtra in the 6th century, he intended on living like a hermit.

The draw of Holy Island was too strong, however -- he soon found himself presiding over a monastic community, and devotees and day-trippers seem to have been coming ever since.

I take a ride to the island from Mountshannon Harbour with Ger Madden, who steers his shallow-bottomed dory through the reeds to dock against a tiny pier in about three feet of water.

Walking to the round tower and church at the other end, we find grounds tended like a golf course, but I'd love to meet the genius who slotted Perspex windows into a restored 10th-century roof.

Ger, who remembers fishing on Lough Derg with hazel rods, knows Holy Island inside out. Its reputation is built on religious gems such as the Roman-esque door on St Brigid's Church, but there are plenty of pagan artefacts too -- including a bargaining stone you shake hands through to seal a deal.

"'Tis cheaper than going to a solicitor," he says.

Details: €10/€5. Tel: 086 874 9710; eastclareheritage.com.

The harbour hideaway

The high profile of West Clare has always been a bone of contention in the east county, which doesn't have the Atlantic coast or Cliffs of Moher to haul it through the recession.

The flipside of that is a quieter experience for visitors who do stray off the beaten track.

Ireland has 84 Blue Flag beaches, for instance, but did you know two of them are on Lough Derg?

At Mountshannon, I find a family kayaking around the piers of a beach deserted save for lifeguards.

Nearby, there are picnic tables by the harbour, with small yachts bobbing in the breeze.

A swan minds its signets, a climbing pyramid rises out of the town playground, and Dagmar Hilty, who moved to Ireland from Liechtenstein 30 years ago, is preparing fillet steaks from Kavanagh's butchers in Scariff for evening meals in An Cupán Caifé. Hidden gem, anyone?

Details: Tel: 087 294 3620 (An Cupán Caifé); blueflag.org.

The overnight suggestion

It's a clear night, and a canopy of stars is spread out over Coolbawn Quay when I check in. It's quiet, too.

A wedding is scheduled for the weekend, but at the moment, the gigantic cruisers tied up at the marina seem more like the ghosts of Celtic Tiger past.

The resort here takes the form of a little village, with cottages and a schoolhouse scattered around a bar, spa and marquee. It feels toasty when I step into my lodgings, a decadent hideaway scattered with crushed velvet, fresh flowers and a basket of turf beside the sitting room stove.

My stay is short, but the service touches are sweet: an early breakfast is arranged so I can that hit the road before 8am, and I'm given the rundown on restaurants from Brocka on the Water to Terryglass.

I wind up the evening with a quiet pint, looking through a porthole window onto the lake.

Details: Two nights' B&B plus one dinner from €159pp. Tel: 067 28158; coolbawnquay.com.

The pub grub

The marina at Garykennedy is a sweet spot on Lough Derg, welcoming pleasure craft with stone-wall moorings, an old castle tower, a safely enclosed playground and a forest walk.

A few steps away lies the thatched Larkin's, the hottest word-of-mouth pub in the lakelands. Step through the half-door and you'll find a picture of JFK and Jackie O over the fireplace, flagstones and ceiling beams, and a stand-up Steinway with keys yellower than a sea dog's teeth.

I enjoy a good chowder (€6.50), as opposed to a great one -- the creamy thickness and a generous mix of mussels, finely diced carrots, onions and white fish warms the cockles without ever hitting the heights of, say, Mitchell's in Clifden.

A three-course menu is also available from €20pp, and if kids are in tow, they can run the ants from their pants in the walled garden out back.

Details: Tel: 067 23232; larkins.ie.

Lord of the ring forts

Some 2km outside Killaloe, I park the car on the roadside, slip through a metal turnstile and stroll down a walkway carpeted in pine needles until I come to a huge, tree-studded ring fort.

It's a trail through time, right back to the earliest settlements on Lough Derg.

Beál Boru, as the fort is known, is probably where local boy Brian Boru -- High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014 -- got his name.

Excavations have uncovered axes, coins and pottery from the era.

Stepping through the old moat and scrambling past beech and ash trees on the bank, I come to the top of the inner ring.

The artefacts waiting in the crater are a little too modern -- the remains of a fire and scraps of litter and beer cans -- but the atmosphere of the Stone Age citadel remains.

Details: Tel: 061 376866; discoverireland.ie/lakelands.

Welcome to wakeboarding

It's all in the attitude," says Mark Dunne. "If you think you're not going to get it, it's hard. But if you relax and give it a go, you'll do just fine."

That's all very well. But sitting in the dun-coloured waters of the River Shannon, with my feet clipped into a wakeboard and my hands clutching a line that extends from a powerboat packing the same heat as a Hummer jeep, it's hard not to think -- and over-think -- about what's about to happen.

Sure enough, Mark tips the throttle, the line grows taut and I crumple into the river.

Wakeboarding is the waterborne equivalent of snowboarding, and this stretch of the Shannon is ideal for it -- the reeds along the riverbank eat up the boat's wake, keeping the water oddly calm.

Dunne's clubhouse is the Tubal -- a former RAF re-fueller anchored north of Portumna -- and he knows how to handle beginners. Tips are simple, speeds low, the Red Hot Chili Peppers pump from the stereo and, when I finally do stand up, there are whoops of encouragement from the boat.

It's all in the technique, of course, as Mark and his buddy Gavin demonstrate, putting on a show of jumps, twists and 360s as I give my arms and thighs a break.

"We're trying to do a Florida sport in Ireland," Mark says -- one reason there are hot-air pipes on the powerboat and a briquette-fired 'sauna' on the Tubal.

My last ride is my best. I manage not only to stand up but also to surf over the boat's wake into the fresh water outside it. Mark banks into a broad U-turn, I whip outwards in a turning arc approaching 40mph and the adrenaline rush is awesome.

"Yeah!" he shouts. "You're the world's newest wakeboarder!"

Details: Sessions from €50pp. Tel: 087 257 3661; irishwaterski.com.

- Pol O Conghaile

A pair of White-tailed Eagles has been confirmed breeding in Co Clare - the first documented nesting attempt for the species in Ireland in over 100 years.


Nest building began in recent weeks with the birds spending much time in and around the nest site in Mountshannon before laying eggs.

The breeding pair, a four-year-old male and three-year-old female, were collected on the island of Froya off the west coast of Norway.

Historically, the white-tailed sea eagle was once a respected and conspicuous part of the Irish landscape, before it was driven to extinction in the early 20th century.
It is understood nest building began in recent weeks with the birds spending much time in and around the nest site before laying eggs.

Speaking about the revelation, Dr Allan Mee, project manager for the Golden Eagle Trust said, “This is a truly momentous event for Clare and Ireland”.

“It seems a long time since we collected these birds as chicks from nests in the wild in Norway and to see them now nesting in the wild themselves in Ireland is the day we have all been waiting for. To see eagles back in Irish skies and now breeding in the wild after so long is wonderful.

“We had hopes that this pair might try and build a nest but because the birds are relatively young, we really didn’t expect them to breed,” Dr Mee explained.
He said the odds are stacked against young first-time breeders because they have no experience of nest-building, mating and caring for eggs and young. They have to get everything right to succeed, but in this instance he said, “So far, so good”.
The news of nesting white-tailed eagles has generated a lot of excitement in East Clare and is attracting the attention of many keen to see the birds. However, disturbance, particularly during the early stages of nesting when the birds are on eggs, would be detrimental to the pair’s success, according to Dr Mee.

Written by Jessica Quinn

TripAdvisor.com, the website that assists customers in gathering travel information, has recently elevated Clare Museum to the status of the county capital’s number one attraction.

The website consists of user-generated content and is used by travellers all over the world to post reviews of tourist attractions, hotels, restaurants and other travel related facilities.

One visitor from Belfast wrote “Arrived shortly before closing time but [we] weren’t made to feel we had to leave… next time I’ll make sure I have more time”.

Another posted, “Not a very big or elaborate place but combines the best of audiovisual presentations in many tongues detailing the local history of Ennis and Clare. Really must be combined with a visit to the Clare Library on Harmony Row to get the overall picture. Should take up a few hours of an otherwise wet day in Clare.”

A visitor from Brunswick, Maine, enthused, “This small museum is an ideal way to acquaint yourself with an overview of County Clare from pre-history to the present day. Incorporating geology, archaeology, art and folklife, you come away ready to view the county and the country through clearer eyes and understanding. Some of the artefacts are stunningly beautiful, all are interesting.”

'Visitors flock to reopened friary'

Thursday, 28 June 2012 12:21

ENNIS friary has welcomed more than 1,200 visitors in the first seven days since the historic building was reopened.

According to Mary Kearns, supervisor at Ennis friary, “There has been over 1,200 visitors in the first week and we’ve welcomed more since. There has been a great interest since the friary was re-opened. It is free for the rest of the season, which is a great draw, we are seeing many people, who might have been reluctant to come in the past visit us through our new entrance. So far, things have been very positive and we’ve been receiving some great feedback.

“We are seeing a real mix of tourists from all over the world but also people who live on our own doorstep, people from the town who are coming in in huge volumes as they pass through the town.”
The friary is getting set to welcome a number of schools in the coming weeks, along with group visits for children organised by Ennis’ DeValera Library.

This 13th century Franciscan friary, founded by the O'Briens, of Thomond who once ruled much of north Munster, has numerous 15th/16th century sculptures carved in the local hard limestone:

A carved image of St. Francis displaying the stigmata is evident in the nave. He carries a cross staff and wears the Franciscan habit. Under the south arch of the tower, an elaborate tracery canopy of the late 15th century was perhaps part of an ornate tomb. The corbels supporting this are carved on one side with a bishop and, on the other, the Virgin & Child. An arch between the nave and transept bears, in a niche, an image of "Ecce Home" or "Christ's Pity". His hands are bound and tokens of the crucifixion are arranged about. The magnificent east window, with its five tall, narrow lancets, lights the chancel. The chancel once contained several royal and aristocratic tombs, among those remaining at the friary are the canopy of the Inchiquin/O' Brien tomb and also the Creagh tomb which incorporates five sculptured passion panels from the much older MacMahon Tomb. Set into the back of this tomb is thirteen carved figures representing Christ and the Apostles, all dating from the mid 15th century.

Ed Leahy (Travel Writer), goes West once again, and finds even more to treasure.

Loop Head takes the holiday crown in ‘Irish Times’ competition