The west clare tour of ireland

The Colleen Bawn

The first stop on this tour will be at Killimer on the Shannon River at the grave yard of The Colleen Bawn. In the 1819, the remains of a woman were found near Kilrush. The victim Ellen Hanly who has become known as the Colleen Bawn in storys.She was fifteen years of old when her body was washed ashore six weeks after her marriage. She had been murdered at the insistence of her husband, John Scanlan, of Ballykehan House, near Bruff County Limerick.

Learn all about the Collen Bawn at www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/people/bawn.htm

Scattery Island & The Dolphin Watching Tour

Scattery Island, lying at the mouth of the River Shannon near Kilrush, in south west Clare, has a rich and unusual history. It has been an ecclesiastical centre since early times A monastery, reputedly founded there by St Senan in the sixth century, suffered under the Vikings in the ninth and tenth centuries and was largely destroyed in Tudor times. Scattery has also served as a place of safe harbour for the Spanish Armada and as a defense outpost for the English government. The island has been uninhabited since 1978.

The Shannon Estaury has been home to schools of Dolphin for at least a thousand years and today the population in the Shannon estuary is the only known resident group in Irish waters and is only one of six such groups in Europe. There are daily boat trips to view the dolphins as well as trips to Scattery Island to view the Monastic sites. These can be arranged for you with prior notice.

The Vandeleur Gardens

Beautiful old stonewalls enclose this sheltered Walled Garden (2.158 acres) which is set among 420 acres of native woodland. Formerly part of the Vandeleur Family Demesne, this garden has been restored around the old path system with a horizontal maze, unusual water-features and a free-standing Victorian-style working glasshouse which is accessible to visitors. The garden specializes in many unusual and tender plants that thrive in the area's uniquely western latitude micro climate.

Children can enjoy the living willow structure, sand area and follow the butterfly trail. A collection of old farm machinery enhances the courtyard. The "Vandeleur Picture Exhibition" and part of the heritage exhibition "Kilrush in Landlord Times" are on display in the centre.

Crotty’s Pub

Crotty's Award Winning Pub & Bed and Breakfast is an authentic Traditional Irish Pub offering great food and drink, quality bed and breakfast and the best Traditional Irish Music.

A tradition of warmth and hospitality dating back to the early 19th century continues today at Crottys. The pub with its old mellowed woodwork, ornate tiled floors, pitch pine counter, original plate glass mirrors, shelves and walls filled with interesting and historical material is a delight to the eye.

The pub is divided into five separate and distinct areas. One can enjoy "The Kitchen" with its original vice regal range or make your way to the "Store" or "Tap" rooms or stay put in the public bars. For those who have never frequented a "Snug" before, you can relax in the privacy of a time gone by.

The West Clare Railway at Moyasta

Next on the West Clare Tour is Moyasta. Moyasta is home to the Slieve Callan Engine of West Clare Railway fame. The engine has been restored at a ehuge expense by local man Jackie Whelan. At Moyasta visitors can take a two mile ride on this train that has been famed in songs & stories.The song “Are you Right there Michael are you Right” written by Percy French is a comical story of the workings of the railway. 

The Little Ark of Kilbaha

Before 1849, famine had paralysed the land and in turn the authorities of the time were attempting through persecution to paralyse the faith. There were no churches or schools. Religion had to be taught under the most difficult conditions.
In 1887 Fr. Michael Meehan parish priest of Moyarta converted two houses into a church but within two weeks the authorities had it levelled to the ground.

The Little Ark

Fr. Meehan did not despair. In 1852 he engaged a Carrigaholt carpenter named Owen Collins to build a wooden hut on wheels.This wooden hut was to be his church.
The authorities were now powerless to evict Fr. Meehan. Subsequently the Little Ark was placed where the road from Kilbaha Quay meets the main road to Loop Head.
Every Sunday more than 400 people gathered to attend Mass there until 1857. A site for a new church was chosen and the Little Ark was brought to that site and used there until the church was ready.

Loop Head Light House

Loop Head lighthouse station is the major landmark on the northern shore of the Shannon river. The complex is built on a clifftop with 300 degree views of the sea down to Kerry Head and Dingle, across the Shannon and up the Clare coast to the Cliffs of Moher. With Galway Bay to the north and the Shannon estuary cutting deep into the south, the county of Clare is almost a peninsula. There has been a lighthouse at this important navigational location since 1670.