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From here to Clare
by Malcolm Rogers
 Point your compass south-west and let Malcolm Rogers be your guide around the top 20 sights of bountiful Co. Clare
Clare can justifiably claim to be Ireland’s most attractive county, boasting the likes of the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren.
It also has the reputation for being one of the country’s traditional music centres — every summer the Willie Clancy School in Milltown Malbay attracts musicians from around the world.
But probably one of the huge attractions of Clare is that is ideal for just roaming about and discovering unspoilt beaches, undiscovered boreens, hidden loughs and unparalleled views.
So just to help you on your way, here’s 20 things to visit in the Banner Counter.
1Make tracks for the West Clare Railway, immortalised in song by Percy’s French’s “Are Ye Right There Michael?”. The Moyasta Junction station house is located between Kilrush and Kilkee on the N67, and is truly a slice of old Ireland. As well as the signal box there’s 1.5 miles of original track with restored steam trains puffing up and down. Open all the year round. Tel: 00 353 65 9051284. All aboard now!
2Walk on holy ground at Inis Cealtra, Holy Island. Home to one of Ireland’s most peaceful monastic sites, nudging the Atlantic at Scarrif Bay, this religious settlement was established in the seventh century by St. Caimen. Things probably haven’t changed much since then — despite regular visits from various visitors, ranging from the Vikings to Brian Boru. Unique among the site’s riches is the Confessional, or Anchorites’ cell. A fascinating, atmospheric place.
3 Visit the county museum in Harmony Row, Ennis. Of course, Clare’s history has been anything but harmonious, but this museum will give you some idea of the sweep of events over the centuries — from the Leabhar Gabhála, or the Book of Invasions with its tales of pre-Christian Ireland, to the kingdom of Thomond, whose story is etched out on the landscape of the county.
4Stay at the classically dramatic Dromoland Castle (Tel: 00 353 61 368144) a fantastic Renaissance structure near Newmarket-on-Fergus. Once the royal seat of the O’Brien clan, its wooden carvings, stone statues, imposing halls and cosy rooms might make you hope that that great weather machine, the Atlantic, delivers the goods and makes you stay inside. On the other hand the 360 acres of dreamy wooded parkland might prove just as much a temptation as the oak-panelled bar. Or there’s the lure of the gym and spa.
5 The fame of Feakle is founded on its reputation for traditional music, for being the birth place of Biddy Early, the wise woman or witch about whom Lady Gregory collected her Visions and Beliefs of the West of Ireland, and for being where the poet Brian Merriman taught as a schoolmaster, and is now buried. The countryside around, dotted with small loughs and surrounded by the nearby Slieve Aughty Hills, is just about perfect for hill walking.
6 For a regenerative, rather than degenerate, weekend, visit Claureen Health Farm, where you’ll be offered tranquillity and restoration with a cleansing and detoxing diet. You’ll have fruit for most meals. And forget about a wine list — there’s a choice of herbal teas instead. As you’ve probably guessed, Claureen is a place for those serious about ‘toning up’. The menu, which makes your average Cistercian monk look positively extravagant, is not only about losing weight — it’s also designed to rid your body of toxins.
Tel: 00353 65 6828969.
7 Head for the Hermitage of Dysert O’Dea, near Corofin and pay your respects to Ireland’s ecclesiastic tradition. This ancient monastic site owes its name to the 40 days our Lord spent in the desert — indeed the whole idea of hermitages, central to the early Christian Church, developed from this ethos. So when you visit places like the O’Dea Hermitage, with its sculptured 12th century cross, you’re standing beside a tangible link with the earliest days of Christianity.
8 Bunratty Folk Park on the Limerick/Clare border affords a glimpse of traditional lifestyles in the Shannon region. It aims to show what everyday life was like in rural Ireland and contains reconstructed farmhouses, cottages and shops. Animals are tended, bread is baked, milk is churned, walls are whitewashed and roofs are thatched. A must for any true Hibernophile.
NB: The medieval banquets in the nearby castle aren’t nearly as bad as you might imagine. Tel: 00353 61 360788.
9 Visit Liscannor, a small fishing village that was the home of John Holland, the inventor of the submarine. Should the weather be clement, Clahane Beach to the west of the village, is an almost perfect strand for bathing or beachcombing and musing on how Mr Holland came up with his revolutionary idea.
10Join the beam team — visit Loop Head Lighthouse. About 3 miles from Kilbaha, this is one of Europe’s most westerly beacons. From here, on a clear day, you’ll get stupendous views of the Kerry Mountains in the far south, the Aran Islands to the North, and behind them the Twelve Bens of Connemara.
11 Sing the night away in Doolin.There can’t be many villages in the world with only a few hundred inhabitants that have become a by-word for traditional music throughout the world. Sessions aside, the reason most people come to this corner of Clare is the scenery. Lying as it does on the edge of the Burren, hard by the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin has one of the most spectacular settings in Europe.
12 Gaze at the cliffs of Moher. Easily the best way to do it is by sea. To catch your boat, journey down to Doolin Pier and get your ticket for the Moher Princess (skipper PJ Garrihy Tel: 00 353 87 245 3239). Now, you might encounter a Force 4 from the south-west, with occasional gusts up to Force 5 and intermittent squally showers. Which for this part of the country means it’s turned out nice again. But it’s an exhilarating journey with incomparable views.
13 Ailwee Cave (Aill Bhui), three miles south of Ballyvaughan, is one of the few caves in Ireland you can visit without any pot-holing experience or equipment. It is also one of the few that actually boasts a shop. Now, that might give you pause for thought, but fear not. The magnificence of this natural phenomenon is not compromised at all. In all there are over 4,000 feet of passages, with 5,000-year-old stalagmites (and tites). The cave’s dimensions have not changed since the last ice age 10,000 years ago.
14 Visit the Polnabrone Dolmen (Poll na Brón) in the Burren region, probably the best known dolmen in all Ireland, and certainly the finest example of a portal tomb. Near Caherconnel, the portal dolmen can be seen a short distance from the road. It looks pretty much like some ancient bus shelter — but as it’s almost 5,000 years old, it’s more likely to be a tomb.
15 Go fishing in Ennistymon. The River Cullenagh passes over the falls at this point, and the angling is said to be excellent. The town itself is a wonderfully preserved market town, with gaily painted shop fronts still keeping the high street multi-nationals at bay.
16Walk along Spanish Point, less than two miles from Milltown Malbay. To the North is the Silver Strand, and to the west is America. The place owes its name to an unhappy incident in which shipwrecked survivors of the Spanish Armada were executed by the High Sheriff of Clare, Boethius Clancy.
17 Walk on the Burren, without a doubt one of the most enchanting landscapes in these islands, if not in all Europe. For a riveting guided tour, the like you’ll never come across elsewhere, call John Connolly Walking Tours: 00 353 87 8779565. Website: www.burrenwalks.com
18 Visit Kinvara, a fishing village perched on the edge of Galway Bay with its own castle, harbour, dozens of pubs, restaurants and shops selling bric-a-brac. What more could you want out of a village? For a recommended, cheap but well-appointed place to stay, book in at the Merriman Hotel. Tel: 00 353 91 638222.
19Voyage to Scattery Island (best departure point is the town of Kilrush). Lying at the mouth of the Shannon the place has a rich and unusual history. An ecclesiastical centre since early times, there’s a monastery, reputedly founded by St Senan in the sixth century.
20 Climb Slieve Callan, the highest point of west Clare. You reach it on the R474 between Milltown Malbay and Ennis, in the townland of Knockalassa. Near the summit is where Lughnasa celebrations took place.
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