County Clare - Heritage/Historical<< Clare Homepage |
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1. Castles (Historical) |
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Bunratty Castle & Folk ParkCo. ClareBUNRATTY CASTLE & FOLK PARK Bunratty, Co. Clare "A Window on the Past" Bunratty Castle is the most complete and authentic medieval castle in Ireland. Built in 1425, and plundered on many occasions, it was authentically restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendour, with furnishings and tapestries capturing the mood and style of the times. Famous Medieval Banquets are held nightly. Within its grounds is Bunratty Folk Park, where Irish village life at the turn of the century is tellingly recreated. The Folk Park contains typical 19th century rural and urban dwellings. There are eight farmhouses, a watermill, a blacksmith’s forge, a village street complete with pub, post office, school, doctor’s house, hardware shop, printers, drapery shop, pawn shop and village hotel. In the park, you can see traditional crafts such as bread baking, knitting, weaving, pottery and photography in their natural setting. Bunratty By Night Mac’s Pub is open by night, year round. Traditional Irish Music is featured on a regular basis. Admission is free after the Folk Park closes. The famous Medieval Castle Banquets and Traditional Irish Nights are held in Bunratty. Here, you can wine and dine, and enjoy the superb entertainment provided by the Bunratty entertainers, or Shannon Ceili team. GERMAN: "Ein Fenster Zur Vergangenheit" Bunratty Castle ist die besterhaltene mittelalterliche Burg Irlands. 1425 gebaut, mehrfach erobert und geplündert, wurde sie 1954 in ihrer alten Pracht wiederhergestellt, mit Möbeln und Wandbehängen im Stil der alten Zeit. Essen und Trinken: Teestube, in der auch kleine Mahizeiten serviert werden. In Mac’s Pub in der Dorfstrasse Können Sie ebenfalls speisen order eined Drink nehmen. Die Spezialität dieser Gaststätte sind Fischgerichte. BUNRATTY BEI NACHT: Mac’s Pub: ist ganzjähring jeden Abend geöffnet. Regelmässig wird irische Volksmusik gespielt. Nach Schliessung des Folk Parks ist der Eintritt frei. In Bunratty finden auch die berühmten mittelalterlichen Bankette und traditionellen irischen Abende statt. Geniessen sie bei Speis und Trank humorvolle Unterhaltung oder die musikalischen und tänzerischen Künste des "Shannon Ceili"-Teams. Italian "Una Finestra Sul Passato." Il Castello di Bunratty è il piu’perfetto, autentico castello medioevale che esiste in Irlanda. Costruito nel 1425, e saccheggiato piu’ volte, fu restaurato nel 1954 e portato al suo vecchio splendore, completo degli arredamenti ed arazzi originari di allora. Ristori: sale da te’ dove ristori vengono serviti la mattina e il pomeriggio, bevande varie, tramezzini, minestre sono disponibili al ‘Mac’s pub sulla strada del paese. La specialita’del Mac’s pub e’ il pesce. Bunratty Di Notte Il Mac’s pub e’ aperto la sera, tutto l’anno, con l’accompagnamento di musica tradizionale irlandese. Ingresso gratis dopo la chiusura del Folk Park. Orari di Apertura French CHÂTEAU DE BUNRATTY ET PARC FOLKLORIQUE. Le Château de Bunratty est le plus complet et le plus authentique de tous les château médiévaux d’Irlande. Refraichissements: Sont servis du thé et des boissons. Il y a aussi un snack. Au Mac’s pub, dans la rue du village, sont servis des soupes, des sandwiches, des boissons et des repas. Spécialités: les plats de poissons. Bunratty, La Nuit: Le Mac’s Pub est ouvert le soir, toute l’année. Vous pouvez y écouter la musique traditionnelle irlandaise après la fermeture du Park. A Bunratty, vous pouvez assister aux fameux banquets médiévaux et aux soirées irlandaises traditionnelles. Vous y apprécierez le diner, le vin et l’ambiance joyeuse de ces soirées ou prenez part aux réjouissances traditionnelles du "Shannon Ceili". | |
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2. Historic Hotels |
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Dromoland CastleCo. ClareConor O'Brien, 18th Baron Inchiquin, is the O'Brien of Thomond, direct descendant of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, who defeated the Vikings at the battle of Clontarf in 1014. He still lives amid the 1000-acre estate through which the river Rine meanders, and is the former owner of Dromoland Castle, though he has built himself a new, more modest mansion, and his erstwhile ancestral home is now a luxury hotel. The original entrance leads up into a small hall, furnished with a spreading many-armed brass candelabrum and ancestral portraits. Doors open into the former library, shelved floor to ceiling, which now contains the bar - it overlooks the lake - and a small sitting room, which has a view of the rose-garden. A wide gallery lined with antlered heads and containing groups of elegant settees ends in a straight wide flight of steps up to the main bedrooms. Viewed across the lake, Dromoland's wealth of crenelated battlements, towers, turrets, and flags rising from the smoothly mown green undulations of the 18-hole golf course appears almost unbelievably picturesque. This is a splendidly impressive hotel. | |
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3. Towers (Round) |
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CarrigaholtCo. ClareThis is a tall and slender 5 storey tower standing in one corner of a bawn and built originally by the MacMahons, Lords of Corcabascin, around the end of the 15th century. The tower is complete with musket holes, 'murder holes' to drop things on intruders' heads when they came in the door, and it also has a vault on the 4th floor. Teige Caech, 'The Short-sighted', Macmahon was unsuccessfully besieged in the tower by Sir Conyers Clifford in 1598, but a few months later the Earl of Thomond succeeded in wrestling the castle from him. It was then taken over by Daniel O'Brien who built the fireplace on the fifth floor which bears the date '1603', and it was probably he who built many of the present windows into the tower. In 1646 Admiral Sir William Penn called at the castle on his way to Kinsale, having just abandoned Bunratty to the Confederate troops. In 1651 it was taken by Cromwell's general, Ludlow, who kept a garrison there until 1652. Charles 11, however restored the castle to the O'Briens in 1666. But in 1691 William of Orange gave it to Keppel, Earl of Albermarle, who sold it almost immediately afterwards to the Burtons, who retained it up till the present century. The bawn protecting the tower is fairly well preserved, though the turret overlooking the pier is modern. | |
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4. Railway Museums |
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West Clare Railway EngineMoynasta Junction, Ennis, Co. ClareVisitors to the museum will be able to see there the inscribed spade with which Charles Stewart Parnell turned the first sod for the laying of the West Clare Railway. The west Clare project was initiated in 1883 and construction began in 1885. The railway, which opened for business in 1887, ran at first from Ennis to Miltown Malbay through Ennistymon. It was afterwards extended to Kilkee and Kilrush, serving Lahinch and other coastal towns on the way. | |
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5. Monuments |
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De Valera MonumentCo. ClareIn the tree-lined triangle before the courthouse, a memorial has been erected to Eamon de Valera, the former president of Ireland who was a T.D. (member of Irish Parliament) for the county from 1917 to 1959 and taoiseach (prime minister) for the greater part of that period. The memorial is in the form of a statue, larger than life size of the great man. It gives a good impression of the dominance exercised during his life by the tall, austere figure. Steele's Rock nearby commemorates "Honest Tom" Steele, a friend and supporter of Daniel O'Connell. | |
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6. Interpretative Centre |
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Scattery Island Interpretative CentreMerchants Quay, Co. ClareThe island of battles is a mistranslation of Scattery Island's ancient name, Inis Cathaigh, the Island of the Cathach, a legendary sea-serpent, but, mistranslation or not, it is a fitting name for a place that has seen so much bloodshed. As legend has it, the Cathach had his lair on the island. He terrorised the inhabitants of the surrounding region from here until he was banished by St. Senan, and imprisoned beneath the waters of Doo Lough, near Mount Callan. Viking raids were a frequent occurrence until the Vikings of Limerick settled on the island. This small island in the mouth of the Shannon, just out from Kilrush, encapsulated the history of ecclesiastical Ireland. During the sixth century St. Senan, the patron saint of West Clare, founded a monastic establishment here which developed into collegiate church. Today one can walk around Scattery in a few hours and gaze on the ruins of a fine round tower, four churches, a castle, a battery dating from Napoleonic times, and the remains of a village deserted by the last of its inhabitants in 1978. Show me all the details for Scattery Island Interpretative Centre | |
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7. Heritage Centres |
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Kilrush In Landlord TimesKilrush, Co. ClareKilrush in Landlord Times tells the story of Kilrush, from its establishment as an Estate Town by the Vandeleur Landlords at the end of the 18th century. Features of the Exhibition include:
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8. Local Tours |
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O Neachtains ToursCliffs of Moher, Co. ClareTHE BURREN AND CLIFFS OF MOHER: CONNEMARA: | |
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9. Cathedrals (Historical) |
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Killaloe Cathedral and ChurchesCo. ClareThe cathedral was founded about 1185 by Donal More O'Brien on the site of an earlier Romanesque church, the doorway of which is preserved in the south-west corner of the Cathedral. The Cathedral is in the form of a cross, and has three narrow lancet windows in the east gable. Beside the Romanesque door near the main entrance is one of the few stones in the country with a Viking runic inscription; it is unique in that it also has the same inscription in Ogham asking for a prayer for Thorgrim who made the stone. Beside it is the cross removed from Kilfenora by Bishop Mant in 1821, having a figure of Christ, interlacings and geometrical ornaments on it. ST. Flannan's Oratory. In the grounds of the Cathedral is St. Flannan's oratory, otherwise known as 'Brian Boru's vault', which is a 12th century Romanesque church which has lost its chancel but has retained a good Romanesque doorway and a well-preserved stone roof supported by the walls of a small loft above the vault. St. Molua's Church: In the grounds of the Catholic church, further up the hill, is St. Molua's oratory. It originally stood on Friar's island in the Shannon, but was removed and re-erected here when the island was flooded and submerged in the Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme in 1929. it consists of a nave, to which a chancel with its stone roof was added later. Both the west and south walls have lintelled doorways. The church was built probably some time prior to the 12th century. | |
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10. Archaeological |
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Dysert O'Dea Archaeology CentreCo. ClareSt Tola founded a monastery here in the seventh or eight century. The present church on the site is a late Medieval reconstruction of an earlier, Romanesque building whose magnificent west doorway is incorporated in the south wall. The finely carved motifs of the arch include geometric designs and unusual human masks. Close behind the north wall of the church is a shattered Round Tower built in the twelfth century. On rising ground not far to the east of the church is an interesting High Cross. It also dates from the twelfth century and comes right at the end of the Celtic High Cross series. It is of the ringless type found elsewhere in Co. Clare, and is elaborately decorated with interlace and geometric designs, as well as figurative panels in high relief. An inscription on the base records that it was repaired in 1683 by a member of the O'Dea family. | |
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11. Towers (Historical) |
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Cliffs of Moher & O'Briens TowerCo. ClareJust north of Lahinch, on the coast of West Clare, are the famous Cliffs of Moher, defiantly standing as giant natural ramparts against the agressive might of the Atlantic Ocean. The Cliffs of Moher the (Great Wall of Thomond) and O'Brien's Tower, which stands out on a headland shows, the extent of the O'Brien influence on the history of the Celtic Tribes. The Cliffs are 8km long and 214m high, it is there that one can most easily get a feel for the wildness of the terrain over which the Celts wandered, for although they built imposing fortress castle, very often they preferred the outdoor nomadic life and enjoyed the hunt. The tower was built in 1835 by Cornelius O'Brien a descendent of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland, and the O'Briens of Bunratty Castle, Kings of Thomond, as an observation point for the hundreds of tourists who even then visited the Cliffs. Cornelius was a man ahead of his time, believing that the development of tourism would benefit the local economy and bring the people out of poverty. O'Brien's Tower was not his only project - in fact it was said of him that 'He built everything around here except the Cliffs'. French Observatoire de style victorien érigé sur des falaises d’une hauteur et d’une longueur imprissionnantes, aux confins de l’Europe occidentale. Paysages et vues spectaculaires sur l’océan Atlantique. German Ein viktorianischer Aussichsturm an Klippen von atemberaubender Höhe und beeindruckender Länge am äuBersten Rand Westeuropas. Spektakuläre Landschaft und beeindruckender Ausblick auf den Atlantischen Ozean. Show me all the details for Cliffs of Moher & O'Briens Tower | |
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12. Forts (Historical) |
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BallykinvargaCo. ClareAn exceptionally interesting though sadly defaced cashel, 1 mile north-east of Kilfenora. The ring-wall encloses an oval space 150 feet by 130 feet and survives to a height of 12 feet or so. Although incomplete it shows a fair standard of building work, incorporating unusually large blocks of stone in the construction of its lower courses. An abundance of easily quarried limestone accounts for the remarkable number of stone forts in the Burren (about 500 are known in the area of 100 square miles), indicating a sizeable Iron Age population here. Ballykinvarga has the rare feature, confined to three or four Irish forts, of an encircling chevaux de frise of sharp stones set upright in the ground and extending as a defensive ring for a distance of about 50 feet out from the cashel. Its one-time effectiveness against intruders can be readily appreciated by today's visitor, since to venture across it without due care is to risk a sprained ankle or grazed shin; how much more hazardous, then, must it have been for attackers advancing under a hail of missiles hurled by the occupants. The only unimpeded access to the interior is on the south side where a passageway leads through the chevaux de frise to an entrance in the cashel wall. The approach to this fort from the road is itself a veritable obstacle course only to be recommended to the nimble, as it involves clambering over several field-walls built of precariously balanced stones. | |
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13. Tombs |
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PoulnabroneCo. ClareRising like a bird about to take off from the karst limestone of the Burren, it attracts by its timeless simplicity, and consists of a very few upright stones (including, now, a necessary modern replacement) supporting a large flat capstone which rises from the back towards the front of the tomb. It is surrounded by a low mound, largely made up of stones, but it seems unlikely ever to have covered the whole monument. Disarticulated bones of 16 adults and children, equally divided between the sexes, were found inside-the remains of at least a part of the Late Stone Age farming community who erected this highly sculptural monument to themselves sometime in the 4th millennium B.C. An excavation in 1986 also unearthed a miniature polished axehead and a variety of flint implements. | |
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14. Convents (Historical) |
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KilloneCo. ClareThis building is unusual in that it is one of the few known old Irish convents for nuns. It was probably founded by that great church builder, Donal Mor O'Brien, about 1190. Certain parts of the building, notably the fine Romanesque east windows with a passage through them within the walls, and presumably the vaulted crypt under the chancel, date from around 1225. In the 15th century the church was shortened when the present west wall was built; at the same time much of the north wall was renewed and the domestic buildings were added. The convent was first mentioned in 1260, when an Abbess dies. of its subsequent history almost nothing is known except that it was vested in the Crown in 1584 and was in ruins by 1617. | |
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15. Homes (Historical) |
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CarrigaholtCo. ClareThis is a tall and slender 5 storey tower standing in one corner of a bawn and built originally by the MacMahons, Lords of Corcabascin, around the end of the 15th century. The tower is complete with musket holes, 'murder holes' to drop things on intruders' heads when they came in the door, and it also has a vault on the 4th floor. Teige Caech, 'The Short-sighted', Macmahon was unsuccessfully besieged in the tower by Sir Conyers Clifford in 1598, but a few months later the Earl of Thomond succeeded in wrestling the castle from him. It was then taken over by Daniel O'Brien who built the fireplace on the fifth floor which bears the date '1603', and it was probably he who built many of the present windows into the tower. In 1646 Admiral Sir William Penn called at the castle on his way to Kinsale, having just abandoned Bunratty to the Confederate troops. In 1651 it was taken by Cromwell's general, Ludlow, who kept a garrison there until 1652. Charles 11, however restored the castle to the O'Briens in 1666. But in 1691 William of Orange gave it to Keppel, Earl of Albermarle, who sold it almost immediately afterwards to the Burtons, who retained it up till the present century. The bawn protecting the tower is fairly well preserved, though the turret overlooking the pier is modern. | |
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16. Museums |
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De Valera Library and MuseumCo. ClareThe County museum is in Harmony Row where it occupies, in combination with a library, a converted Presbyterian church. The complex, called the de Valera Library and Museum, contains, in addition to archaeological and historical museum pieces, much valuable archival material. It was awarded a European Architecture Heritage Award in 1975. | |
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17. Monastic Sites |
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Dysert O'Dea Archaeology CentreCo. ClareSt Tola founded a monastery here in the seventh or eight century. The present church on the site is a late Medieval reconstruction of an earlier, Romanesque building whose magnificent west doorway is incorporated in the south wall. The finely carved motifs of the arch include geometric designs and unusual human masks. Close behind the north wall of the church is a shattered Round Tower built in the twelfth century. On rising ground not far to the east of the church is an interesting High Cross. It also dates from the twelfth century and comes right at the end of the Celtic High Cross series. It is of the ringless type found elsewhere in Co. Clare, and is elaborately decorated with interlace and geometric designs, as well as figurative panels in high relief. An inscription on the base records that it was repaired in 1683 by a member of the O'Dea family. | |
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18. Abbeys |
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Canon IslandCo. ClareThe present church is long and rectangular, and was built early in the 13th century. In the 15th century a tower was built to the south of the nave, and two chapels-one at the south-east corner, the other to the west of the tower-were added. Most of the domestic buildings are of the same period; they comprise a sacristy next to the church, a chapter room in the east side, and a kitchen, a pantry and refectory on the ground floor of the south wing. There were no buildings in the western portion. The whole monastery was surrounded by a (or built inside an older) circular wall. We know little of the Island's history while the monks inhabited it except that Mahon O'Griffy, Bishop of Killaloe, was buried there in 1483. In 1543, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was granted to Donatus O'Brien, and afterwards it belonged to various Earls of Thomond. Henry, 7th Earl of Thomond, granted it to Richard Henn in 1712. | |
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19. Friaries |
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Ennis FriaryCo. ClareThe Ennis Friary, is a Franciscan Friary founded by the O'Briens Kings of Thomond, in the 13th century. The site was originally on an island in the River Fergus aroudn which the modern town of Ennis has grown. Its monuments are famous, notably the McMahon tomb (15th century) with carvings of the Passion of Our Lord. | |
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20. Churches (Historical) |
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Canon IslandCo. ClareThe present church is long and rectangular, and was built early in the 13th century. In the 15th century a tower was built to the south of the nave, and two chapels-one at the south-east corner, the other to the west of the tower-were added. Most of the domestic buildings are of the same period; they comprise a sacristy next to the church, a chapter room in the east side, and a kitchen, a pantry and refectory on the ground floor of the south wing. There were no buildings in the western portion. The whole monastery was surrounded by a (or built inside an older) circular wall. We know little of the Island's history while the monks inhabited it except that Mahon O'Griffy, Bishop of Killaloe, was buried there in 1483. In 1543, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, it was granted to Donatus O'Brien, and afterwards it belonged to various Earls of Thomond. Henry, 7th Earl of Thomond, granted it to Richard Henn in 1712. | |
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21. Bridges |
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O'Brien's BridgeCo. ClareIf you continue southwards from Killaloe towards Limerick you will shortly (6 km) reach the small village of O' Brien's Bridge. There are two bridges here, one of modern construction over the canal, and the older stone bridge over the river. At this point the flow of the river is obstructed by a massive weir. The bulk of the flow is diverted into an artificial canal - the headrace for the hydro-electric works at Ardnacrusha. The remainder follows the old line of the Shannon, much diminshed from its former impressive course through the Falls of Doonass and the celebrated fishing village of Castleconnell. There are still, however, pleasant walks by the old river. O' Brien's Bridge is a noted centre for coarse angling. Crossing the bridge to the Co. Limerick village of Mountpelier and taking the R466 road to the left for 2 km you reach Parteen Weir and fish-hatcheries, from which the ESB restocks the Shannon fisheries now in its management. Further on one passes the village of Cloonlara, only a short distance from Ardnacrusha where Ireland's first hydro-electric station (1925-29) harnessed the Shannon for power production. Permission to view the works must be sought from the Electricity Supply Board. At O' Brien's Bridge, if one does not intend to visit the lower reaches of the Shannon, the visitor may take the road north-westwards towards Broadford. Alternatively, one may join the R463 Limerick-Broadford road near Ardnacrusha. | |
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22. Town Information |
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Feakle TownCo. ClareFeakle is doubly famous as the place in which the poet Brian Merriman taught as a School-master and as the home of Biddy Early, the wise woman or witch about whom Augusta Lady Gregory collected much traditional lore and published it in her Visions and Beliefs of the West of Ireland. Brian Merriman was neither born nor did he die in Feakle (born Ennistymon 1749, died Limerick 1805) but he chose to be buried here where he had spent many years and made the location and background of his only major work, a long poem in Irish entitled, Cuirt an Mhean Oiche (The Midnight Court). A monument to his memory has been erected by An Cumman Merriman (the Merriman Society) and may be seen in the local graveyard. | |
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