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NORTH KERRY & SOUTH CLARE
What to see, where to go – everything you need to know
A nice place to visit, it’s a better place to live
 NORTH Kerry features
some of the South West of Ireland’s hidden treasures with its rolling
hills and scenic farming landscape — rich in heritage, culture and
the arts.
The area south of the Shannon Estuary is noted for fun and festivals and
popular for angling, diving, golf, horse riding, shooting and walking.
Ballybunion and Ballyheigue have wonderful, safe beaches ideal for families.
Ballybunion is also home to one of the world’s finest golf courses.
Other golf courses include Ballyheigue, Barrow and Tralee.
Tralee is home of the Festival of Kerry — probably better known
as the Rose of Tralee — and is the base for touring the
fabulous Dingle Peninsula and Killarney.
But the time when Listowel — and surrounding places as far away
as Tarbert and Ballybunion — really come to life is for the annual
Listowel races in the third week of September.
That’s when farming people from far and wide with their harvest
in, take time off to eat, drink and lose money on the horses.
The lively market town of Listowel — situated on the banks of the
River Feale — is described as the Literary Capital of Ireland.
It has produced an abundance of world-famous writers including John B.
Keane and Bryan MacMahon.
Agriculture is of major importance to the economy in North Kerry and the
region is essentially one of small farms with dairy production predominating.
The manufacturing industry is also a significant contributor to economic
development and employment creation in the area.
The major employers are located in the large towns such as Tralee and
Listowel.
Fishing and marine culture are also very important industries and one
of the region’s main growth sectors.
Ports such as Dingle and Kenmare are among the top-25 countrywide in order
of value of fish landings.
Those looking to buy a home in North Kerry may be happy to learn the market
has recently taken a downturn.
According to one prominent auctioneer who was recently forced to close
his business the situation has deteriorated markedly over the past 12
months.
He said: “Market forces being felt in North Kerry now mean that
housing developments are taking much longer to sell.
“Whereas a housing development would have shifted in days over a
year ago in Listowel it’s taking much longer now.”
The situation means buyers now have more power — and relative bargains
can be had.
Clare/Ennis
Ennis is way beyond the pale and quite outside Dublin’s sphere
of influence.
For many settlers this makes it an appealing destination.
Commuting to the city involves a spin south on a new dual-carriageway
to plentiful well-paid jobs in Shannon and Limerick.
It’s a dormitory town for thousands of people — but Ennis
is not sleepy.
The lovely, bustling market town on the banks of the River Fergus is a
frequent winner of Tidy Towns Awards and a popular weekend destination.
It is also one of the most cosmopolitan places in Ireland mainly due to
its proximity to Shannon Airport and in recent years has attracted a large
influx of economic migrants.
An estimated 600 Nigerians alone live in the town and during a recent
visit Nigerian Ambassador Ekong Omaghomi praised Ennis as: “A wonderful
example that should be emulated in other towns and counties in terms of
integration.”
There’s something special about Clare.
Although the county is officially in Munster it lies across the Shannon
and is spiritually, geographically and temperamentally in the West of
Ireland.
It is arguably one of Ireland’s most impressive county’s yet
in Ennis there is little evidence of the tourist tat and aggressive commercialism
which is so overwhelming in a town like Killarney.
Earlier this year, a e120million bypass opened on the N18 road which links
Limerick to Galway and removed an estimated 20,000 vehicles daily from
the streets of Ennis.
Clare county engineer Tom Carey said this would allow Ennis to breathe
again.
The New York-based Project for Public Spaces has named O’Connell
Street in Ennis as among the top-60 great places in the world.
When you consider that other spots selected include The Spanish Steps
in Rome, Covent Garden in London and The Luxembourg Gardens in Paris,
the Clare county town is certainly in impressive company.
Not surprisingly then Ennis is a popular town for relocation.
It is blessed with good schools, easy access to universities and a great
sense of culture, history and Irishness.
Anyone choosing to live here will find property costs reasonable. |
