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  • Writer's pictureattrillhelen

County Clare: castles, cliffs and Che

Updated: Jul 9, 2023



This couple may agree with Russell Crowe that the Kilkee Cliffs provide “the best cliff walk in the world!”


The doorbell rang. I sprang out of my seat in my tiny cottage apartment. Who could be contacting me? The only people in town who knew me were the next-door neighbours, Gus and Marion and we communicated by our common (and slightly unstable) back veranda, where we discussed their home grown herbs, their rescue cats and what can and can’t go into your compost. Two pre-teen boys were at the door. My first thought was ‘Is there a Boy Scouts Association in Cooraclare? Are they selling biscuits? Have they kicked a football over the fence? Or are they out to murder me; they start young these days’. ‘Moy ooncle says you’ve luft your car looyts on’ the lad stated, before he headed off with his mate. I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked them. I realised that I was still grappling with how to work out the lights and wipers on my Avis Hire Car. In this surprisingly busy street it is essential to park your car on the footpath to allow the passing traffic enough room to drive along the two way street. This was just one of many instances of country hospitality and friendliness that I experienced in County Clare, and specifically Cooraclare for the first seven days of my time in Ireland.


My cottage accommodation with the owner's name in block letters.


Try googling Cooraclare and you won’t find much, a Wikipedia definition of ‘(Irish: Cuar an Chláir, meaning 'recess of the plain')’ and an accommodation website (which actually provides good information on the region). ‘It has a population of 100, has 3 pubs (sadly, one of them, next door to my accommodation closed recently when the owner passed away), 1 pub has a restaurant, there is 1 shop 1 post office; 1 church; 1 playground’. The site had neglected to mention that there is one service station too and, like most of Ireland, the store is part of the service station and quite comprehensive; you can buy a precooked roast dinner for 5EUR and yes, they sell wine (having just left Iceland where wine sellers are scarce this is a great relief). Sadly, none of the pubs in Cooraclare serve meals anymore so you have to drive for at least fifteen minutes along narrow hedged roads to the closest town if you’re dying for one of Ireland’s famous pub meals.




One of two pubs in the main street of Cooraclare. The flag is not the Ukraine Flag but the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) County Clare Football Club Flag. There are more of them than American flags during Independence Day.


One might then wonder why I chose Cooraclare for my first stay in my three week trip to Ireland. In order to afford to travel for three months in Europe and to have extended stays in a range of different places, I have tapped into my membership with homeexchange.com. I had been accumulating points through hosting people at my house while I am not there (you can also do direct swaps or non-reciprocal exchanges with no point exchanged) and now was the time to spend them. My choice of locations in Ireland may not seem like the typical or most logical route: first County Clare, then down south to County Kerry, then back up north to County Mayo and finishing back in the East for County Dublin, all homes in the country, none in cities. There were home exchange homes in these four places with willing hosts. My small cottage was all I needed for the week. James, my host is, like many homexchange hosts, newly retired, and in his 60s. He’s a wiry marathon runner and has various cottages around Ireland. The front of the house has his name J.KENNY in 3-dimensional block letters but it looks like that name has been there for 100 years. The home is in the main street and I share the backyard veranda with the neighbours, Gus and Marion. The yard consists of a huge paddock with three small horses that James warned me his friend uses to graze from time to time. Gus invited me to help myself to any herbs from the garden. A hire car helped me to visit such icons as the Cliffs of Moher, The Burrens and the Wild Atlantic Way.

This part of West Clare is supposedly noted for its traditional music and dance - impromptu sessions are held regularly throughout the year. The local pubs offer ‘good Guinness and chat’. The restaurants in the area have a reputation for excellent Irish kitchen and seafood.




Most of the small stone bridges in County Clare are decorated with cheerful hanging baskets of flowers.


Driving in County Clare offers a mixture of experiences; you can drive as fast as 120kmph on the freeway but between towns, you are often driving along a single lane road no room for foot traffic and bushes brushing the sides of your car. Meeting a car along the way means that one must wait where there is a space before the other one passes. This is always done courteously and with the obligatory hand or finger lifted wave. The smaller the town, the greater the instance of waves, I have learnt.


A typical narrow road between towns in County Clare.


Once settled in at Cooraclare I decided to excursion a little further afield in search of hike. I am so pleased that I visited the Cliffs of Kilkee on my third day in Clare. Online instructions were to park at the carpark at Diamond rocks Café. Unlike at the Cliffs of Moher, there was no parking fee or any need to book. Most of those walking appeared local and I was struck with how fast almost everyone of all ages was walking but also by how almost everyone greeted you. There were a number of loop trails you could do or you could simply walk as far as you wanted, then return back to your car and drive the rest of the way to take in more views. Unlike at the Cliffs of Moher, there were no large barricades to keep you from falling over the edge, but, at this point, it wasn’t necessary as most walkers here seemed more interested in power walking than in creating dangerous selfies close to the edge. Towards the end, I found an interesting sign noting all the famous people who had visited Kilkee and I made a note to find out more. The actor Richard Harris was a regular visitor to Kilkee, coming here for holidays in the 1960s. The town was obviously proud enough of having such famous visitors that they created a statue of Richard Harris in 2006 after he died during the filming of Gladiator. Russell Crowe subsequently took up the invitation to visit the town to launch the sculpture and, when visiting the Diamond Rocks Café and the cliff he was reported to have announced “It’s the best cliff walk in the world!” (use your imagination with which accent he may have used for this speech) and since then, almost every business in Kilkee has used Rusty’s endorsement to promote themselves. Crowe and Harris weren’t the first to visit, however. The British poet Alfred Lord Tennyson visited at least three times in the 1870s, referring to it as “Kilkee by the great deeps” and was known to have gone swimming in the Pollock Holes there. Emily Bronte chose Kilkee for her honeymoon. USA rocker Bruce Springsteen is said to have visited and has ancestors in Kildare. Che Guevara also joined the throngs of celebrities although perhaps unwittingly. He was on an overnight flight from Moscow to Cuba and airline Aeroflot had a refuelling base at nearby Shannon and his plane had became fog-bound. He must have been convinced to stay in Kilkee for its beauty rather than inland Shannon and while there, he and his two minders entered a pub. The bartender offered him a Guinness to which he refused but tasted his first Whisky instead. Guevara regarded himself as an Irish-Argentinian as he had a grandmother whose surname was Lynch and lived in Galway. After his death Che’s father remarked that “in my son’s veins flowed the blood of Irish rebels”. Che had great respect for Ireland’s success in gaining independence.


The Kilkee Cliffs


Curious calves along the road which forms part of the walking tail along Kilkee Cliffs.


A van free camping on the cliff top.

More views along the Kilkee Cliffs


In addition to the beaches of the Wild Atlantic Way, County Clare is also renowned for its grey stone castles and churches dotted along the small towns. Although the earliest ‘building’ in the county on record is the Poulnabrone, a tomb from Neolithic times, and there are some wooden churches from the 5th century still around, the most common buildings you’ll see whilst driving by are the churches, friaries and remains of castles, mainly from Norman and Medieval times.


The dramatic Quin Friary with burial yards



The Quin Friary Cloisters



Inside The Quin Franciscan Friary


On one of my road-trips I had set out in search of Knappogue Castle only to find it firmly locked, despite there being nothing about this on the website. I had noticed that some attractions in the area had closed and often emails asking about tours went unanswered, perhaps a legacy of covid. But I had noticed enroute a large church or castle in the area so I headed back to the town of Quin to explore this building further. The Quin Franciscan Friary was founded around 1402 and it took over the site of the Anglo-Norman de Clare fortress that was built after 1278. Thomas de Clare (d.1287), a powerful Anglo-Norman lord, built the fortress in 1278. It was destroyed in 1320 after de Clare was defeated in a battle by the O’Brien Dings of Thomond and their allies. The building ceased to operate as a friary after 1541.


Windows inside the Quin Friary.


The remains of the castle are still visible as they were incorporated into the friary, with the foundations of three of the corner towers of the curtain wall surviving to varying degrees. Despite its various attacks, especially in the sixteenth century, substantial remains of the friary survive, making it one of the most intact medieval Franciscan friaries in Ireland.


When I asked a publican in Cooraclare where I could get a meal, she suggested one of the nearest towns, Doonbeg. Whilst I never ended up dining in Doonbeg, I did visit the castle there and the one around the corner in Doonmore. Both castles were built by Philip Mac Sheeda Nor McCon in the 16th century and the town names are derived from their castle names. Doonbeg is derived from the words Dun Beag, meaning the small fort and Doonmore means large fort (although it’s not as large now as it once was as a turret at the south-western corner fell soon after 1898 bringing most of the walls of the upper room with it). The Irish word ‘dun’ means stronghold or defended enclosure.




Doonbeg Castle


Doonbeg Castle was built for the Earl of Thomond, Daniel O’Brien. Turlough MacMahon of West Corca Baiscinn took it in 1585. After his death in 1595 at the end of a fierce siege, the castle was surrendered again to the O’Brien’s who, as victors, hanged the entire garrison. O’Brien, a supporter of Queen Elizabeth, received a grant of most of Tadhg Caoch MacMahon’s (heir of Turlough) property, including the castle.

In the 19th century, seven families lived in the tower. Even up to 1930 it was occupied and one of its occupants was a schoolmaster named Michael Scanlan. Locals used its upper floor with its mossy overgrowth as a picnic spot since it afforded privacy and beautiful views. In September of 1939, the castle was in a dangerous condition due to the effects of nature and the crumbling of the riverbank. Sadly, most of the castle has come down, leaving only the north-western corner standing.






Doonmore followed a similar history, with various owners, was confiscated by the Crown in 1688 and sold in 1703. It was inhabited during 1808 but classed as a ruin in 1837. The original castle was considerably higher until it partially collapsed at the turn of the century. The rest was pulled down soon afterwards leaving only the lower portion, from the stone vault down, intact. Today, it’s fenced off as it is deemed dangerous, but you can still view it clearly.


I also visited much more frequented Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, a ticketed theme park that was a hit with visitors and tourists of all ages. Even though the little houses were only reconstructions, they looked convincingly like original homes and the whole complex had enough to keep everyone busy with a walled garden, artist studios, the castle itself with its narrow stairwells and animal enclosures.



Bunratty Castle


Inside Bunratty Castle


The next closest town to Cooraclare is Kilrush. Just outside the town is a place I loved so much I returned, The Vandeleur Walled Gardens. Appearing highly established, it’s hard to believe that the gardens only opened to the public in the year 2000. There was once a house on the premises built in 1712 but it was burnt in 1887 and completely demolished in 1973. The Vandeleur family was of Dutch origin. They arrived in Kilrush in 1688, did well and Colonel Crofton Moore Vandeleur (1809 – 8 November 1881) became a magistrate for County Clare, and a Deputy Lieutenant of the county. The Vandeleurs practically owned the town but were reputed to have been insensitive during the famine years of 1840s by evicting many of the tenants.


Walls and plantings at The Vandeleur Walled Gardens


Due to funding from the Great Gardens of Ireland Restoration Scheme, and to Kilrush Amenity Trust and Kilrush Urban District Council, the gardens have seen a major redevelopment, which has brought jobs and tourism to the community. There are quite a range of plants and trees and a maze that provided endless hours of fun for the families that visited on the weekend when I visited. But outside the walled garden itself was magnificent woodlands along a river. A bit further from the river was another interesting Greystone church and a Kilrush town trail. On my second visit, whilst hiking in the woodlands, a cherubic redheaded boy on a motorised scooter zoomed past me a few times and then thought it his duty to tell me I was heading towards a dead end. I thanked him but said I was happy to keep walking and could always turn around and go back. He then went on to tell me that there was a wonderful place I could visit that was full of flowers. He was referring to the insides of the walled garden. Again I thanked him and walked along my ‘dead end’, which wasn’t a dead end at all. With a café and plant nursery the gardens and woodlands made for great return visits for tourists and locals alike.



Formal plantings inside the The Vandeleur Walled Gardens



Plenty of moss in the shady woodland grove adjacent to The Vandeleur Walled Gardens



Flowers growing wild in the woodlands near The Vandeleur Walled Gardens



Looking over the fence at Kilrush's Church of Ireland.


When visiting County Clare as a tourist, the two top places to visit are The Cliffs of Moher and The Burren, both of which I visited. Writing this several days later after two days of torrential rain I can appreciate how lucky I was to experience fine days whilst in Clare. The day I visited The Burren National Park I followed advice to prepare for all weather but ended up in a t-shirt for most of the part. There are seven way-marked walking trails in the Burren National Park, however I ended up starting one coloured trail and finishing with another, due to the sudden absence of signage and going off-course. Before I knew it I was on the other side of the trail altogether, having walked further than the three hour trail. The top of the Burren is renowned for its circular patterns of limestone made by terraces. The Burren is one of the finest examples of a Glacio-Karst landscape in the world. At least two glacial advances are known in the Burren area. However, it is probably the effects of the last glaciation (the Midlandian) that are most in evidence in the National Park. It is thought that most of the Burren was overrun by ice during this glaciation. This is evident by the presence of fresh deposits of boulderclay at altitudes of just under 300 metres. The covering of ice is not likely to have been thick however, and some of the hills to the west may well have remained clear of ice.


View from near the top of the Burren


The Burren showing the terraced rock formations


The Burren showing the rocky limestone that you must walk across if hiking; looking downwards towards the lake.


The word “Burren” comes from an Irish word “Boíreann” meaning a rocky place. This is an extremely appropriate name when you consider the lack of soil cover and the extent of exposed limestone pavement. However it has been referred to in the past as “Fertile rock” due to the mixture of nutrient rich herb and floral species.


I wasn’t so lucky with the weather when visiting The Cliffs of Moher; I had followed advice to get there early but there was so much mist that the cliffs were almost indistinguishable from the sky. Not a bad idea but the original walking track is now obscured by high stone walls, making viewing quite difficult unless you are tall. I thought back to how fortunate I was to have visited the Cliffs of Kilkee, in perfect weather, without barricades and without hoards of tourists.




Misty views of the Cliffs of Moher.


There were plenty of other places I could have visited in County Clare but what I did see gave me a great taste of this stunning and charming County and a great introduction to Ireland.


Further Reading:




https://www.burrennationalpark.ie/



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